Quick and the Dead
by Genevieve Kelly
Summary: The Seven soon learn of a hit being put out on each of their heads, learning of someone who wants to see them dead, who's willing to pay any price. To make matters worse, a stranger to Four Corners arrives and creates an even bigger problem, especially for the town's resident gambler. Ezra's life is about to take a turn for the worse. Story takes place after the episode, Serpents.
1. Chapter 1

Quick and the Dead

Chapter One

"Look out, on your right!" Ezra shouted as he saw one of the outlaws try to sneak up behind the Seven's leader, who was quickly able to deflect the attack when he fired his peacemaker, killing the man instantly as its bullet entered his chest.

"Vin, we could use a bit more of an advantage down here!" Larabee called out to their sharpshooter, who had finally reached the top of the tallest building in their small town and swiftly began to shoot down the killers that attacked Four Corners in hope of destroying the seven lawmen that had come to be legends throughout the West.

Buck kept firing from his cover while keeping his eye on the youngest member of their group squatting beside him as he too fought to bring these men down, then J.D. noticed that the battle was almost won and called out, "We've got them on the run!"

The ladies man cried out, "I know kid, but don't get all cocky on me now! Stay focused and for crying out loud, would you keep your head down? You're going to get your head blown off one day!"

"I'm getting really sick of you reminding me that, Buck," the kid responded in frustration, before a bullet suddenly shot off the bowler hat J.D. wore, causing him to duck down lower to the ground.

"Ah, but it appears Mr. Wilmington here must keep doing so, if only to make sure you remain among the living," the Southern gambler quickly answered after shooting the man who tried to kill J.D. the moment before with the small derringer he wore beneath his right hand sleeve. "It appears the battle is won."

Nathan walked out into the street once the firing stopped and it appeared that all of the assailants were either dead or unconscious, then began to check the men over, and said, "We were all lucky that none of us were hurt this time."

Josiah stepped away from his place outside of the livery, running his fingers along a small wound in his arm, then replied, "Though not all of us came out of this fight completely unscathed."

"How bad is it?" Chris asked as he, Vin, and Nathan joined the preacher, followed by Buck and J.D. once they finished checking to make sure that all threats to them were down.

"It's nothing," Josiah responded quickly as he tried to protest the healer's administrations. "Only a scratch."

Nathan grabbed the big man's arm before he could stop him and stated, "You'll let me be the judge of that."

After a minute, Nathan spoke again saying, "Actually, you're right. It is nothing more than a scratch. It looks like the bullet just grazed your arm."

"Great, now that that's settled, who were these guys?" Buck asked angrily as he kicked one of the men, who slowly had begun to come to.

"What we really ought to be concerned with is who contracted these men to try to eradicate us," Ezra answered as he bent down over the man who appeared to be in charge of their attackers and pulled out a piece of paper, then began to read. "It appears someone has offered a reward of $7,000.00 for anyone who is successful in this endeavor."

Buck reached down and pulled the poster from his comrade's hands as he replied, "Woo wee! $7,000.00! That's $1,000.00 for each of us."

Chris took the paper from his oldest friend's hand as Buck had done, then responded, "This is a lot of money."

"Someone wants us dead real bad," Vin answered sullenly. "And I'm guessing that when whoever placed the hit on us learns that these men failed, someone else will take their place."

"I have no doubt that the reward will increase," Chris replied. "Josiah, Nathan, and Buck, take the men who are still alive to the jail and see if anyone can tell us something about who hired them. If they're not in the mood to talk, give them a motivation to do so. Someone is desperate enough to hire men like these to kill seven lawmen. I want to know who."


	2. Chapter 2

Quick and the Dead

Chapter Two

Once Josiah, Buck, and Nathan had secured the surviving bandits within the town's jail, those that were still conscious simply glared at the three lawmen before them, one of whom smiled coldly as he spoke up saying, "We won't tell you anything. There is nothing you can do to us to make us talk."

Nathan left the jail to go get his medicine kit, while Buck looked over at Josiah and stated smugly, "Heck Josiah, it seems that there's nothing we can say or do to find out who's trying to kill us. We may as well just leave and tell Chris they know nothing. What do you think?"

"I think that maybe Brother Larabee could use some alone time with these men," the defrocked preacher answered, "If these poor souls know anything…"

"Larabee, as in… Chris Larabee?" one of the other prisoners asked fearfully. "We were never told that it was Chris Larabee we were charged with killing."

Buck shook his head and chuckled, then responded, "Boy, you boys must be pretty stupid if you didn't ask your boss specifics as to who it was you were asked to kill. What exactly did he or she tell you?"

The prisoner who had spoken up first quickly replied, "Don't answer him! They're only trying to trick us. We don't have any information for you, old man."

"Son, I may be an old man, but I promise you, I can beat you down ten times before you can get even one punch in," Josiah answered as Buck laughed quietly as he watched the smug fool inside the cell step back a few feet away from the door. "If any of you know anything, you would be helping yourselves just as you would be helping us."

"Some of us need a doctor first," one of the prisoners said coldly. "I've got a bullet hole in my arm and my brother's shoulder is hurting him badly."

It was then that Nathan walked back in as he responded, "It's probably because it's been pulled out of its joint. Luckily for you, I can help him with that and I can patch you up as well, if you'll let me."  
The man's brother moved back against the far wall as he shouted, "I won't be having no darkie touch me! I want a real doctor."

"I'm not a doctor, but if you don't let me help you boy, you will lose any use of that arm and an infection will spread, which will in time cause you to lose your life," Nathan replied in frustration, but tried not to show his resentment in being called a darkie. "It's dislocated. I can put it back in its place."

"Fine, help him and we will tell you what we know," the other man answered finally, then stepped forward as Nathan opened the door to his cell and stepped inside, but was suddenly knocked over as the first prisoner screamed as he tried to break free.

Josiah managed to grab him without much problem as the man continued screaming, "I won't be a prisoner! I'd rather die! You can't tell them anything!"

The preacher then looked back at his friend standing at the door and asked, "Bucklin, if you would be so kind?"

"I'd be happy to," Buck responded as he stepped forward and slammed his fist hard against their prisoner's face, successfully knocking him unconscious, then stood back to admire his handy work as he flexed the muscles in his now sore hand. "Anyone else?"

"It looks like they're good," Nathan replied, chuckling as he started examining the reluctant young man with the dislocated shoulder, then swiftly pulled it down hard to reset it, causing him to scream out."

He cried out, "That hurt!"

Nathan nodded and answered, "Yes and it will remain sore for just a bit longer, but it will get better, I promise you."

"So, what do you know?" Josiah asked as Nathan moved to the other man and started examining the wound.

"Your wound is nothing more than a scratch," Nathan quickly stated before the man could answer his friend. "You're going to be just fine."

The prisoner glared at the healer as he responded, "It feels worse than just a simple scratch."

Buck replied, "You can trust our friend. Now, answer our question. Who hired you to kill us?"

"Look, we don't actually know who it is that wants you seven men dead," the man answered cruelly. "We spoke to someone working for them though."

"What good is that information to us?" Buck asked angrily. "I thought you were going to tell us something useful?"

Another of the prisoners quickly said, "We can't tell you what we don't know."

Buck nodded and responded sarcastically, "Yeah, well thanks a lot. Come on boys, let's get out of here and let them rot until Judge Travis arrives in town next week for their trial."

"Now wait a minute!" the man called out to them quickly before Buck and Josiah could walk out the door. "I never said I didn't have anything of use to you. We didn't get a name of who hired us or even the name of the guy we spoke to, but we do know something. These people are out for revenge."

"That doesn't exactly help to lower the number of people who want us dead down, son," Josiah replied as Nathan finished rubbing in the herbs he uses on wounds to keep away infection, then started to wrap his arm with his bandages. "We've taken down a lot of wicked men, many of whom have sworn revenge on us."

Buck smiled and answered, "Yep, and we're all still here. Tell us something useful."

The man now appearing to be in charge of the group of bandits, as their actual leader was killed in the gunfight earlier, responded nervously, "From the way the guy we dealt with spoke, we know that the person you seek is a woman."

"Well now, that does help to lower our list of enemies down," Buck replied as he looked between his friends, who both nodded in agreement.

"Only one name comes to mind," Josiah answered sadly. "But it isn't like Ma Nichols to hire gangs and bandits to do her dirty work. I doubt it's her."

Nathan responded, "I agree. Besides, last I heard, she's still in the sanatorium we placed her in after she went nuts over the loss of most of her sons. She wasn't faking it. There's no way it could be her."

Buck threw his hands up in the air as he replied, "Well then, who else wants us dead bad enough that they're willing to pay out a sum of $7,000.00? I don't recall crossing any other women. We should go talk to Chris and the others. Maybe they'll be able to think of someone we can't yet."


	3. Chapter 3

Quick and the Dead

Chapter Three

Once Buck and Josiah had finished interrogating their prisoners and Nathan finished treating the men's wounds, the three walked into the saloon, finding Ezra, who was sitting quietly at one of the tables flipping his playing cards between his fingers as he usually dead, especially when in thought, as well as J.D., who was speaking incessantly to the gambler about the fight they had just been through, asking a number of questions in regards to who wanted the Seven dead.

Knowing that Chris and Vin must be finishing up with the town's undertaker, as well as wiring the judge to inform him that he's needed, the three sat down with the other two to wait, when Ezra, interrupting the young sheriff, spoke up asking, "So what, pray tell, did our would be assassins have to say in regards to the man, or men, who hired them?"

Buck motioned to Inez for a drink as he sat, then looked at the gambler and replied, "Not a whole lot, only that whoever it is, is out for revenge and that he is actually a woman."

"A woman?" J.D. asked in confusion. "But we haven't offended or done harm to any woman, unless it's Ma Nichols that hired 'em. But she's…"

"She is still in the sanatorium we put her in and as I said, hiring killers to kill for her and her boys isn't like her," Josiah finished as Inez placed glasses of beer down for each of the men now at the table, as well as two extras for the other two for when they arrive.

Buck looked up at Inez and smiled charmingly as he said, "Thank you, darling'. Uh Ez, is there a chance you could cover the cost of...?"

Ezra looked up from his cards and glared at the cowboy as he interrupted, "If you are asking that I cover the cost of your libation as well as my own, then Sir, I will tell you plainly, no."

"Come on Ezra, it's not like you can't cover the cost," Nathan responded as he glared at the Southerner sitting beside him. "From what I saw last night after you finished playing cards with them rich folk, you seemed to have come into a good amount of money."

"Though I appear to have more than each of you combined, since when have I ever been so generous as to pay for someone else's drinks?" Ezra answered smugly as he smiled at the healer, who simply shook his head in disdain, something he did often with the gambler despite them being friends.

Buck shrugged, then replied, "All right, what about you kid? Do you think that you can cover me for tonight?"

The boy looked at his friend and responded, "Sorry Buck. I can barely afford my own until we get paid next week."

"Fine, then it looks like I might just have to go without," Buck spoke again in frustration as he pushed his own drink back toward the tavern's beautiful manager.

"Nonsense Buck," she quickly answered as she gave the drink back to him and smiled. "I have heard recently that a number of saloons and taverns have a system in which a person may order however many drinks they wish without paying, so long as they agree to pay for all at a later time agreed upon by said person and the establishment's owner or manager. Mrs. Standish has agreed that this system is a good idea, as she finds a number of gentlemen within this town to be good and true to their word."

Ezra scoffed and replied cynically, "Of course she does."

Buck ignored Ezra as he patted J.D.'s back excitedly, then stated, "Did you hear that, kid? That's the best idea I've heard of since… well since the idea of Judge Travis hiring the seven of us to protect this town. Inez, another round of drinks for me and my friends."

"You best be careful with any kind of deal my mother has her hand in, Mr. Wilmington," Ezra responded as he began to deal his cards on the table before him, preparing to play poker with Josiah. "No doubt there is some angle in this for her. I am certain you will end up owing far more than what you borrow."

"I hate to admit it, but I think Ezra might actually be right," Nathan answered in agreement.

When Chris and Vin finally walked into the saloon, then walked over to join the others at the table, the leader of their troupe turned to his longtime friend and asked, "So, did you learn anything?"

Buck sipped on his pint of beer, then related to him and the tracker exactly as he told the others, then Vin spoke up saying, "We're no closer in knowing who wants us dead this time. I'm willing to bet that this woman is someone we haven't even come across."

"Like it's the widow of someone we killed you mean?" J.D. asked quickly.

"Exactly," Vin replied as he also took a drink.

Buck slammed his fist on the table and replied in frustration, "So, our prisoners' information was of no help to us after all."

Ezra shook his head in disagreement as he responded, "Perhaps that's because you failed to ask in a way that would make them more forthcoming."

"Are you saying that you believe you can get these men to tell us more if you offer to play a game with them, brother?" Josiah asked as he and the gambler finished the hands they were playing.

"Indeed, Mr. Sanchez," Ezra answered with a smile, showing his gold tooth. "That, and perhaps a few libations as well, to make them feel a bit more comfortable, though perhaps it would be best if I invite the one most likely to talk a brief reprieve from his newfound quarters, so we may have a more private talk."

As Ezra stood from their table and started toward the doors, Buck called out to him asking mockingly, "Do you plan on paying for the drinks you'll be buying for this plan of yours at a later time, Ezra?"

The Southern gambler looked back at his friend and stated coldly, "I shall never help to line my mother's pockets or her handbag with any of my own money, Mr. Wilmington. The day that I do so will be the day that I would have to admit that I am no more than a failure in my own profession."

As Ezra exited the saloon, a stranger to Four Corners walked in and took a seat at the bar, ordered himself a drink, then turned his head to look around the room in hope of finding the person he had come to see. None of the remaining lawman paid much attention to the newcomer, as there were several other men drinking and gambling that evening as well.

However, it wasn't long before another man, a man the Seven didn't know well, took a seat beside the stranger and began to speak quietly so that they would not be overheard by anyone that could possibly ruin their reason for being there. One man sitting at the bar didn't rouse suspicion, but when the second man joined the newcomer, both Vin and Chris had become aware of their presence and immediately felt that the arrivals were about to cause trouble, though they were unsure why or for who.


	4. Chapter 4

Quick and the Dead

Chapter Four

"Should we go ask them what they're business here is?" Vin asked Chris quietly while the two of them kept their eyes on the stranger and man they knew only to be the town's new bank manager, as the previous manager had left for a city he believed would be safer, without a group of gunslingers always around creating trouble.

"No, there's nothing against two men simply carrying on a conversation," the leader of the Seven responded calmly. "But I want you to keep an eye on them, at least on the stranger. I doubt Mr. Higgins will do anything to compromise his job and stay here, but if you suspect trouble…"

Vin finished for his friend, "I'll come and get you. Where you headed?"

Chris stood, then replied, "I think I'm gonna go see what Ezra's up to. Make sure that he doesn't drink our prisoners into oblivion just yet."

"Would it be so bad if he did?" Vin asked as he finally turned to look at the man in black as Chris placed his head on his head. "They'll be much more willing to answer any of our questions."

"Maybe," Larabee answered, then turned and walked out of the saloon, while Nathan stood up from the table the Seven were all sitting at a few minutes before and headed to the bar to ask Inez for a hot meal for Vin, J.D., Buck, Josiah, and himself.

As the woman walked away to get the food, Nathan turned to the bank manager and nodded in greeting, then he looked at the stranger and held out his hand to introduce himself saying, "Hello, my name's Nathan Jackson. I'm a healer here in town. And you are…?"

The man reached out to take his hand and answered with a Southern accent, "The name's Ellstin Lafayette. It's good to see another Black man in these here parts, especially one with a profession such as yourself. There aren't too many around here, at least none of us who are free men. Mighty impressive, Sir."

"Thank you," Nathan responded, though with more reserve as he sensed the coldness in the man's tone as he spoke and finally noticed the barely visible scar that ran down the lower part of his face along his neck. "If you don't mind my asking, what brings you here to Four Corners?"

"My friend here's just in town to visit an old friend," Mr. Higgins replied for Lafayette as he patted the man on his back. "We were friends from back when he worked my brother's plantation down south. We became good friends and after my brother died, Ellstin and the rest of the slaves were given to me and my family. I set Ellstin free after he saved my life in the war. Nathan here is more than just our town's healer, Ellstin. He's also a lawman, along with six others, though I haven't actually met them all yet. Just Nathan, our town's young sheriff, and the closest thing we have to a preacher. Oh and the gang's leader, Mr. Larabee, though we haven't actually spoken yet. He isn't much of a talker, nor is he friendly."

Nathan chuckled and then stated, "Chris takes some gettin' used to. It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Lafayette. It's best that I get back to my friends. Let me know if you need anything while you're here in town."

The stranger nodded and answered, "Thank you, I will."

"You talk too much, Joseph," Ellstin said coldly under his breath after Nathan stepped away to help Inez carry the food he ordered for him and his friends. "I didn't come here for pleasantries."

"Yes, I know, but you will be here for a few days, so you need be patient and respectful of these townsfolk, especially the lawmen," Mr. Higgins responded in frustration. "Remember, I live here and work here now and I hope to continue to do so for a long time. I like it here, most of the time."

Lafayette replied, "You've only been here two weeks."

Joseph nodded and then answered, "And it has been an eventful two weeks. A few robbers came to town to try to rob my bank and then there were the men who tried to kill Mr. Larabee and his old friend, Mr. Wilmington."

"Tell me more about these seven lawmen," Ellstin stated curtly.

"Well, Mr. Larabee is their leader," the bank manager began. "He's real tough. Dresses in black mostly and has this stare that chills ya to the bone. You'll know him when you see him. Then, there's Nathan of course, and a defrocked preacher, Mr. Sanchez, who's older than you and me; an odd fellow. Oh, and the sheriff, as I said is real young; just a kid. J.D. they call him. Larabee's oldest friend is another of 'em, a Mr. Wilmington. He loves the ladies and is a real flirt. I haven't actually met him yet, or the rest. I hear there's also a tracker and former bounty hunter. Tanner, I think. And finally, the one I know the least about is some gambler. I don't even know his name. Seems strange that a man like him would be a lawman. You will most likely meet him when you play in the tournament. I hear he's the best gambler in these here parts."

The stranger actually smiled smugly as he responded, "Well, that now is interesting. I would be very interested to meet him; see how he fares against me."

Mr. Higgins nodded and replied, "I'd be quite interested to see that myself."

"One final question, Joseph, before I turn in for the evening," Elliston spoke again. "How many folks have shown up so far?"

"For the tournament, not too many yet," Higgins answered as he motioned to Inez in want of another drink. "A few from a good distance, but most of the folks comin' are comin' from the cities right around here, maybe fifty miles at most. Don't worry, Joseph, I'm fairly certain no one's skill can match yours. And don't you worry none about the lawmen. They'll most likely be too busy dealing with cheaters and drunkards to pay you much mind. They will never learn that you are wanted for killing those two homesteaders that cheated you outside of Eagle Bend."


	5. Chapter 5

Quick and the Dead

Chapter Five

Ezra walked into the town's jail and took a seat at the desk, his feet lying on the surface, then spoke to the remaining bandits in order to weave out which of them would be most susceptible to the gambler's con. It didn't take much time to see that the youngest of the group, whose shoulder had been dislocated, then put back into place, would be the easiest target.

In less than twenty minutes, Ezra had the boy, no more than eighteen, sitting down at a table inside the small hotel across the street from the Standish Tavern that had very briefly been owned by his mother, now owned by one of the few men in town that actually seemed to respect the Southerner, with a plate of hot stew and a pint of whiskey in front of him. The boy seemed reluctant at first as he stared at the lawman before him as if he believed that Ezra was trying to poison him.

The gambler finally spoke first saying, "Sir, I assure you, if I wanted to kill you, there are plenty of easier ways I can think of, that would take up far less of my time. Please, eat and enjoy a drink that will help to remove the sting of your disarticulation."

The kid looked at Ezra in confusion as he asked, "My what?"

"The pain in your shoulder," Ezra corrected for him with a roll of his eyes. "I too once felt as you feel now. Believe me, the pain is unbearable, but thanks to Mr. Jackson's questionable and at times, disconcerting administrations, I was right as rain in no time."

"If you're asking me if my shoulder is better, then yes, I'm fine," the boy answered as he slowly began to eat the warm meal before him.

Ezra nodded as he pulled his deck of cards from his coat pocket, then calmly began to shuffle them, and after a few minutes of silence he asked, "Perhaps I can interest you in a game of chance, my friend? Once you finish that is?"

The boy greedily continued eating, seeming to have forgotten that he wasn't alone, took a few sips of his drink, then finally looked at the man before him wearing bright, fancy clothes, and replied, "You, want to play a game with me? Why is that, mister? Why are you treating me so good, especially after I tried to kill you and your friends?"

"I will tell you, Sir, those men I work with are more acquaintances than actual friends," Ezra responded coolly with no sense of deceit on his face, even though it was a lie; a gift that the suave con man had mastered long ago, before he even learned how to read and write. "I have been forced to work for them for the time being. It was either that or death, courtesy of the leader of the band, Mr. Larabee. I must do what I must do to survive this miserable, dusty old town."

"I hear you," the kid answered and laughed as he gulped down the entire pint put before him by the hotel's manager after he had finished his first, while Ezra pretended to drink his own, but poured it out into the spittoon on the floor beside him when his opponent was paying him no attention. "All right, go ahead and deal those cards of yers. I've been playing poker since I was ten."

Ezra smiled and began to deal as he replied, "Well then, I shall not be disappointed. I too have been fortunate to learn from such a young age. What exactly shall we wager... mister…?"

The boy motioned the barkeep for another drink, failing to notice the leader of the Seven as he slipped into the hotel's lobby from the back and stood on to watch the con from a distance, then the kid responded, "Jake. My name's Jake Wickham. I had a few dollars in my pockets when we came here. We can start with that, if you can match it."

"Actually, I was thinking of something a bit more, shall I say it, useful; information of sorts," Ezra answered with a grin, taking a quick glance at Chris as he winked, giving the man in black confirmation that the young man was ready to spill whatever other information he might have. "If I win, you will tell me more about those that asked you and your friends to try to take down myself and my acquaintances."

"And if I win?" Jake asked drunkenly.

The Southerner held up the key to the cuffs around the boy's wrists and replied, "Well then I set you free, of course."

The kid quickly added, "And my brother. You must set my brother free too."

"Very well, we have ourselves a proper wager," Ezra responded as he held up his cards, laid two down on the table faced down, picked up two more to add to the ones in his hand, then once again pretended to drink as he looked at Jake, waiting patiently for him to make his own move.

After several minutes, Jake laid down all of his cards to reveal a full house as he smiled smugly at his opponent, but his smile quickly faded when Ezra laid down four of a kind; four Jacks. The kid looked up at the gambler, glaring at him, then angrily shoved the playing cards on the table at him.

"You cheated!" Jake said coldly under his breath, as Chris simply grinned behind him, the boy still being unaware of his presence.

"I assure you, Sir, I did not," Ezra answered confidently as he leaned back in his chair and actually did toss back a shot of whiskey in celebration of his win. "I had no need to cheat, on account of you playing abhorrently. I expected better."

Jake tried to get out of their agreement as he stuttered, "I… I… my brother already told the others, we told… told you what we know, all that we know."

Ezra shook his head as he replied, "I am afraid, Mr. Wickham, that I can tell when one is lying, so please do not insult my intelligence. As per our agreement, what more do you know about who tried to kill me and my friends?"

"I thought you said that they ain't your friends?" Jake asked coldly, despite his inebriation.

"Yes, well I am afraid that I lied," Ezra stated smugly as he smiled again. "Now, please continue."

Jake Wickham finally blurted out, "The woman you're looking for is set out to avenge the death of some Irish guy you boys killed named uh… O' Dell… O'Dea…"

Ezra cut the kid off as he answered for him, "O'Shea, Dicky O'Shea. And I thought we were finished with that cold hearted reprobate."

"The Irish always were the most stubborn and bullheaded sort of folks," Chris spoke finally as he moved to stand beside his friend, surprising the kid, causing him to fall out of his chair to the floor. "Good work, Ezra. Your plan worked like a charm."

"Did you ever doubt me, Mr. Larabee?" the con man asked mockingly.

All of a sudden, someone spoke up from behind the lawmen, having entered the hotel at the tail end of the conversation, asking in surprise, "Ezra? Ezra Samson, Maude's little boy?"

Both Ezra and Chris turned around to look at the man who interrupted them, as Ezra slowly stood and stared at him in shock, it being the first time Chris had ever seen his friend at a loss for words. Chris saw that it was the new bank manager, Joseph Higgins, whom he had only met once and had watched earlier as he spoke with the newest stranger in town that made him and Vin a bit unnerved. But the look on Ezra's face and his silence said it all. This man was trouble, whether it be for them all, or just Ezra, he didn't know. But even if he was trouble for one of him men, it did mean trouble for them all.

After hearing Ezra's Southern drawl and seeing him facing him now, Higgins smiled and replied to his own question, "Well, I'll be, it is you. You're all grown up now, but there's no mistake. I'd recognize you anywhere."

"Ezra, do you know him?" Chris finally asked as he gently placed his hand on the gambler's shoulder in hope of snapping him out of his rare and frightening stupor. "Ez?"

"I'm sorry, I have to go," Ezra finally responded as he swiftly pushed Chris' hand off, then pushed past Mr. Higgins, and bolted from the hotel, leaving both men behind, as well as the prisoner.


	6. Chapter 6

Quick and the Dead

Chapter Six

"It seems that I missed something big," Vin said worryingly, having nearly run into Ezra on his way over to the hotel and noticed the con man's strange demeanor as he walked past him in a hurry without a word, then he looked between both Chris and the bank manager in confusion. "What's going on, pard?"

"I don't know," the leader of the Seven replied coldly as he moved toward the man before him, no longer paying any attention to the young man in chains trying to slip away until the hotel manager pulled out a small pistol, clicked back the weapon's hammer, then motioned for Jake to remain seated, either on the floor or at the table. "I want answers, Mr. Higgins. Who are you and how do you know Ezra?"

Joseph slowly started to back away, not wanting to be interrogated by Chris Larabee or any of the rest of the lawmen, then he nervously answered, "I don't…. Please, if you want to know, then you will have to ask him. He clearly isn't the same young boy I knew all those years ago, especially as he's a lawman now… after all I heard about…"

Vin suddenly interrupted, "What exactly have you heard about our friend mister?"

"Look, I'll leave him alone, I promise," Higgins responded as he was forced back into a chair seated on the floor right behind him as the two men before him cornered him. "I have nothing against him. When I knew him and his mother, they went by the name Samson. I don't know more than that. I barely knew them at all. Ezra after all was just a boy at the time. Please, I must get back to the bank."

"But you didn't do whatever the reason you had for coming in here yet," Chris replied again, still wanting to know what it was this man was hiding. "By all means."

Joseph shook his head and answered, "I can conduct my business later. Good day, gentlemen."

Mr. Higgins finally slipped past Chris and Vin as he quickly ran out the door, then Vin turned to Chris, who finally remembered they still had yet to return Jake to the cells in the jail, and as he grabbed the boy, the tracker quietly asked, "What do you suppose we do, cowboy? I doubt Ezra will be any more willing to talk to us. He might brag about certain cons he's pulled or about the games he's played against other gamblers like himself, but anything personal, he's as quiet as the breeze out on the dusty trails."

"We need to get him to tell us," Chris responded as he continued to drag Wickham back to the jail, then shoved him inside one of the cells as the kid's brother shouted at them to know what they had done to him, while they simply ignored him and walked out again without saying a word.

"And how exactly do you expect to get him to talk to us?" Vin asked again, though more forcefully as he could see the cold look on his friend's face, a look of determination. "You can't force it out of him. He'll only shut us all out and probably leave town for good if we even try to get him to talk."

Chris abruptly stopped just as they both entered the saloon again, then looked over at his friend and stated angrily, "Don't you think I don't know that? What can we do? If there's trouble, I want to know about it."

Vin stared into Chris' eyes, not noticing as Josiah, Buck, and Nathan stood up from their table to join them, and asked coldly, "For who? For Ezra, or for you; for this town?"

"What's goin' on?" Nathan asked in confusion as he looked between the two men, seeing the tension on their faces.

"What's going on is that Ezra's in trouble, or rather, we're worried that he might be and we don't know why, seeing as he won't open up to any of us and the problem won't tell us anything either," Vin replied sternly. "Our new bank manager walked in on Ezra as he finished talking with our prisoner and mentioned that he knew Ezra, back from when he was just a kid."

Chris sighed to calm down, then continued, "Ezra didn't say a word except that he was sorry, before he ran out. I've never seen that look on his face. Never thought it was even possible."

Vin quickly added, "He was scared and maybe even sad."

"Damn!" Buck stated suddenly. "If Ezra's scared, something real bad must have happened between him and that Mr. Higgins fella. I knew there was something about him I didn't like."

"The thing is, there's someone new in town visiting with Higgins that Vin and me both sensed wasn't right," Chris answered in frustration.

Josiah looked between their leader and the tracker and asked calmly, "Are you thinking that this stranger may be here for reasons more than just the tournament coming up?"

Chris nodded and responded, "It's possible, although Higgins did seem surprised to see Ezra. I don't believe he knew Ezra was here, let alone knew that he's one of us. Vin, I want you to try to keep your eyes on Higgins and his friend, just as I told you. Try to find out what they're up to."

"I'm on it," Vin replied as he turned and left again.

"I think I'll go see if I can help our brother," Josiah said somberly as he moved toward the staircase leading up to the tavern's lodgings.

Nathan turned to the former preacher as he walked off, calling out after him, "And how do you think you can do that? He won't tell us anything he doesn't want us to know about."

Josiah answered, "Patience Nathan. Perhaps a little bit of patience and reassurance that we only want to be here for him."

"Did Higgins say anything else, Chris?" Buck asked after the older man left. "Surely you questioned him, right?"

"Not much, except that…" their leader responded until he cut himself off upon remembering something that the man had said that seemed strange.

Nathan looked at Buck in confusion, then back at Chris as he asked, "Except what, Chris?"

Chris replied, "Higgins started to say something about having heard things about Ezra, maybe rumors or something, but he quickly cut himself off before finally saying that he'll leave him alone. I didn't really think much of it, but now I wish I would have stopped him from leaving and tried harder to find out the truth."

"Well, hopefully Josiah can get Ezra to talk," Nathan answered quietly. "If anyone can, it'd be him."

Meanwhile…

Having made it up to his room above the saloon, Ezra slowly moved to is bed and sank down as he thought about the moment he first laid eyes on the man from his past again after all these years, the part of his past he had locked deeply away, even from himself. After a few minutes, the usually calm and collected gambler stood and made his way over to the mirror above his nightstand and suddenly punched his fist against it, not having noticed as Josiah knocked quietly, then enter before Ezra could invite him in or tell him to go away, just in time to see his friend hurt himself.

"Ezra!" Josiah spoke calmly as he quickly reached his friend's side to stop him from hurting himself further, the man's sudden appearance startling him as the preacher gently took his now bloodied hand gently within his own. "Are you alright, brother?"

The Southerner roughly pulled his hand free, wincing as he did so, then turned his back to his friend as he softly responded, "I'm fine. Please, just leave me be, Mr. Sanchez. I'm in no mood to talk to you or any of the rest of our lowly troupe."

Josiah shook his head as he replied, "I can't do that, Ezra. Not when it's clear that you're deeply troubled by Joseph Higgins' sudden appearance back into your life. I know that I was of no comfort to you when you needed me on the day you came to me in the church, which is something I regret wholeheartedly. I hurt you and I'm so…"

"You don't know anything about what I feel, Josiah," Ezra answered coldly as he turned back to him, glaring angrily at the man as he realized his true intent was to try to get him to open up. "You know nothing about me and I wish to keep it that way. Please, leave and inform the others that I'll be leaving to go out on patrol alone, instead of Mr. Wilmington and Mr. Dunne."

"You don't have to hide whatever's bothering you from us, Ezra," Josiah pleaded, hoping to get through to the one of them that he had the most trouble in getting to know. "Please, let us in. We only want to help you."

Ezra only turned away from the preacher again, picked his hat up again from off his bed, placed it on his head, then without looking at him asked quietly, "Is it true that Mr. Higgins has been brought on to be this town's newest manager of the bank?"

Josiah responded, "Yes. He arrived only two weeks ago. You haven't met him until now, as you've been busy with other matters."

"Indeed, I have," the gambler replied as he strapped on his gun belt, then picked up his horse's saddle he kept in his room and started toward his door to leave. "You may not understand this, Josiah, but I am afraid that if this, Mr. Higgins, stays on here in Four Corners, then I must tender my resignation, effective as soon as I return in the morning. I shall inform Mr. Larabee of this then."

"Please," the former preacher stated worryingly as he swiftly laid his hand down on the Southerner's shoulder as he tried to push past him to leave. "Don't do this, Ezra. What is it that this man has done that has you so unusually rattled?"

Ezra looked down and answered sadly, "Nothing, Mr. Sanchez. Therein lies the problem. Now, I really must go."

Josiah spoke once more before he left his room saying, "At least go to Nathan and have him take a look at your hand before you go. You only just had the sling removed from your bullet injury a few days ago. I know that your arm and side are still painful for you. If you don't get yourself treated…"

"I assure you that I'm fine," Ezra responded in frustration. "Good evening."

Without another word to the preacher or to the rest of the Seven, who were still in the saloon sitting once again at their table, as well as Mary as she had joined them while they were upstairs, the Southern gambler walked past them and left. Chris, Nathan, and Buck all turned their heads to look up at Josiah as he made his way down the stairs and over to them, then took a seat himself, but couldn't speak, as he was unsure how to begin.

"Did I see that his hand was bleeding?" the healer asked worryingly.

Josiah nodded, then replied, "He had slammed his fist into his mirror and broke its glass when I entered his room. He's afraid and he's angry. I couldn't get him to open up, but it's obvious that Mr. Higgins has done something terrible to him. He's leaving on patrol for Buck and J.D., then plans to pack up and leave town when he returns in the morning."

Buck looked at the defrocked preacher in confusion as he asked, "You mean permanently?"

"I'm afraid so," Josiah answered wearily, seeing the look of what he believed was disdain creep across their leader's face. "He isn't running out on us, Chris. I'm afraid that he's leaving only because he's afraid that if he remains, there'll be trouble for us all and he doesn't want to worry us anymore than he already has. He's protectin' us the only way he knows how."

"I don't worry about Ezra running out on us anymore," Chris responded firmly. "I'm just angry. Angry that I can't think of how we can help him if he won't let us in."

It was then that J.D. walked in as he started toward his friends while pointing behind him asking, "Was that Ezra I just saw saddling his horse and leaving for patrol? I thought Buck and I were goin'?"

Buck motioned for the youngest to have a seat beside him as he replied, "A lot's happened, kid. Trouble's brewin'."

"What's going on?" J.D. asked again.

"Mary, what do you know about Joseph Higgins?" Chris asked as he turned to her before anyone could answer the sheriff.

She looked between the men around her in confusion as she answered, "Not much, except that he came highly recommended by an old friend of my husband's over in Eagle Bend. Mr. Higgins is from down south, Louisiana I think. And he's well qualified for his position as the bank's manager."

Nathan continued, "Did anything seem strange about him when you spoke to him the day he arrived here, or any other time you may have spoken?"

"No, not at all," the town's newspaper journalist responded with a shake of her head. "In fact, he is very kind and respectful. What is this about?"

"It seems he and Ezra have crossed paths somehow," Buck replied curtly. "A long time ago. Higgins is the reason why he's leavin' town in the morning."

J.D. nearly choked on his beer as he asked in surprise, "Ezra's leaving? I don't understand, what happened?"

Chris answered sternly, "This man has hurt Ezra somehow and we're going to find out exactly how and then we're going to kick him and his friend out of town."

"Wait a minute, Chris," Mary quickly objected. "I understand that something strange has happened between Mr. Standish and Mr. Higgins, but you can't simply kick him out of town just because he may have said something against a man like Mr. Standish…"

"What do you mean by that Mary?" Buck asked her as he stood from the table and glared at her coldly. "I thought that you respected Ezra now. After all, he saved your life when he stepped in between you and that bullet."

The woman corrected herself as she responded, "I assure you, I meant no offense. I am incredibly grateful to him and respect him. What I meant to say is that Ezra has had a rather colorful and rocky past to say the least. That perhaps we should make sure that the reasons for his behavior against Joseph is truly justified."

Josiah also stood, then moved to leave as he spoke angrily, "His reasons are justified."


	7. Chapter 7

Quick and the Dead

Chapter Seven

Joseph Higgins was worried, worried because out of all the towns and cities that he could have found a job in, he happened to choose the one where someone he never thought he would have seen again was now residing and was a lawman of all things. Ezra being here did not bode well, not for him and most certainly not for himself. Joseph didn't know what a better choice was; tell Lafayette the truth and risk the man hating him and going after Ezra, or keep the young Southerner being here to himself and hope that his companion didn't recognize him too should they run into each other.

By the time Higgins reached the doors to the livery where he knew Ellstin would be, gathering his things together before joining Joseph at the hotel as planned, the bank manager realized that the latter wasn't an option. He did after all owe Ellstin his life and cared for him like he cared for his brother.

As Ellstin was pulling his last bag down from his horse's back, he turned his head upon hearing the doors open and watched as his old friend slowly walked toward him, then finally spoke up asking, "What's wrong, Joseph? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Higgins swallowed, then responded nervously, "You're not far off. Look, I know you will be angry with me for not telling you this sooner, but… that kid I looked after for his mother all those years ago…"

"Do you mean that little bastard, who did this to me?" Lafayette interrupted angrily as he turned to face the man before him, pulling down his jacket collar to reveal the full length of the large scar running along his face to his neck. "What about him?"

"He's here," the manager answered quickly. "I mean, he is living here in Four Corners. I promise you, I had no idea he would be here, of all places. I heard he was the spitting image of that woman who dropped her boy off on my doorstep, wandering around big cities conning people out of their hard earned goods."

Ellstin shoved his old friend back against one of the posts in the middle of the room as he replied coldly, "You mean to tell me that you knew that that boy is still alive and you didn't tell me?"

Joseph nodded and responded, "I wanted to. I mean, I meant to, but... I haven't seen you in years and I figured that the news wouldn't matter to you. He never said anything. If he did, you would be wanted for more than just killing those other homesteaders."

"How do you know that I'm not?" Lafayette cried out. "I may just have been lucky after all these years. It's not like I go around requesting wanted posters with my own pictures on them! How do you know he's here? Did you see him? Did he see you?"

"Yes, I saw him," Higgins answered fearfully, knowing that what he was about to say next would make his friend even angrier than he already was. "And he saw me. He was in the hotel, speaking with one of the lawmen's prisoners, along with another of them lawmen. Ezra's one of them. It appears he's the seventh whom I haven't met yet."

Ellstin grabbed him by his throat and started to squeeze as Joseph struggled to continue saying fearfully, "But look… as soon as he saw me, he ran… out of the room! He didn't say anything to his friend… and I don't believe he will. Please… no one would want to reveal something like what you did to him and the others."

The Black Southerner released his hold, then pointed his finger at the manager and replied, "You better pray that he doesn't. You are my closest friend, Joseph, but if that boy talks to the other lawmen around here and I go down, then I will take you down with me."

"I never did anything to Ezra or to the others!" Higgins shouted as Ellstin pushed him down to the ground, then began to pace as he tried to come up with an idea. "It was all you, but I swore to you then, as I am promising you now, I will never betray you to anyone. You should just leave town. Leave Four Corners tonight, before there's a chance that that kid might say something."

"No, I came here to play in the tournament," Lafayette responded coldly. "And I plan to. Perhaps it's fate that I've come here, so that I can finish what I should have finished then."

Joseph scrambled to stand again as he answered, "You can't, Ellstin. He's a lawman now, along with six other men here. If you kill Ezra… They will kill you too."

Ellstin smiled and then he replied, "Try not to worry so much, Joseph. I have an idea. An idea that will allow me to get rid of that good for nothin' bastard for good this time, at least some of his new friends, and one that will allow me to play me a good game too, all before I get out of this dusty backwater of a town. Hell, this just might be worth missing the tournament and whatever money I could have won. I'm goin' to need ya to point him out to me, Joseph. And whatever you do, do not speak to him or his friends anymore. I can't have you spoiling anything too soon."


	8. Chapter 8

Quick and the Dead

Chapter Eight

"What's happening, Vin?" Chris asked upon seeing the tracker hastily walk into the saloon as he made his way over to them.

"Our assumptions were right," he answered while trying to get his breath under control again. "Higgins went straight to the stranger again after he left the hotel. They were just in the livery and it looks like the man is preparing to stay, at least for a few days. I couldn't get close enough to them to hear their conversation, but I could make out a few words and Ezra's name definitely came up. I also heard them say something about a scar on his face or neck, about a boy still being alive, and something about Higgins not doing anything to Ezra or others. That's really all I could make out. It didn't make sense, but we need to find Ezra. I've got a feeling that these two are definitely going after him."

Josiah stood up from his seat and asked coldly, "Where are Higgins and this stranger now?"

Vin looked over at the defrocked preacher, seeing the darkness in his friend's eyes, and responded, "Higgins headed back to the bank, and the stranger, he went into the hotel. That's probably why Higgins was there earlier, to book lodgings for his friend."

"All right," Chris replied as he removed his hat and scratched his head wearily while he thought for a moment, then placed his hat back on. "Ezra's out on patrol, so he's okay for right now. Vin, I need you to continue to keep your eyes on our stranger. Buck, go with him. J.D. and Nathan, I need you to keep watch over our prisoners for now. I'll let you know if we need you later. Josiah, come with me. We're going to finish having our talk with Mr. Higgins. I want to know the whole story."

"If anyone can get the slimy weasel to spill the truth, it's certainly those two," Buck stated to J.D. as he patted the kid's back, then split up to follow after Vin, who headed off in the direction of the hotel.

A few minutes later, Vin and Buck entered the hotel and found only the man in charge, as well as two other patrons sitting at one of the tables having coffee and freshly baked scones. The man they were there to check up on was nowhere to be seen, which made the two lawmen nervous.

Buck walked over to the clerk's desk asking quickly, "Sorry, Mr. Brown, but did you see an older gentleman, Black and who's from the South?"

Brown nodded and answered, "Yes, but he left in a hurry. I gave him the key to his room and a few minutes after he put his things inside, I saw him leave out the back."

"Did you see which way he went?" Vin asked.

"No, I'm sorry," the man responded with a shrug. "I figured he would head to the saloon, seeing as he's here for the tournament and all, but…"

Buck interrupted him asking, "You heard him say he's in town for the tournament?"

The man in front of them nodded, then replied, "That's right. I'm sorry that I can't be of any more help to you boys."

"Come on, Buck," Vin said quietly as he turned away from the others in the room. "We're going to see if we can't pick up the man's trail."

"Sounds like a plan to me," the ladies' man spoke up as they quickly left the hotel again in search of their newest enemy.

Meanwhile…

The leader of the Seven and the preacher stepped inside the bank as its manager started to back away slowly upon seeing the two lawmen walking toward him, knowing that they knew something was wrong. Seeing the looks on both of their faces, Joseph also knew that there would be no escaping from them this time.

Higgins spoke up nervously asking, "Mr. Larabee, Mr. Sanchez, what… what… what can I help you with?"

Chris was about to speak up until Josiah placed a hand over his chest to stop him, then continued walking toward the manager as he answered, "You can tell us why you and the new stranger in town are plotting to harm our friend."

"I don't… know what you're talking about," Joseph responded, then grunted in pain when the lawman about his own age roughly pushed him back against the wall behind him and held him there.

"Try again, or Josiah here will beat it out of you," Chris replied coldly. "We're not in the mood for games. What do you have against Ezra Standish?"

Mr. Higgins gulped and then finally answered, "Look, Mr. Larabee, I don't know anyone by the name Standish. I knew him and his mother as Ezra and Maude Samson. It was a long time ago and I assure you, I have nothing against either one of them."

Chris pulled out his gun and pointed it at the manager as he responded, "Then why did you go directly to your friend as soon as you saw Ezra in the hotel and share the information with him? Who is he and what does he have against our friend?

"If I tell you anything, he will kill me," Higgins replied in frustration. "I can't…"

"If you don't talk, we'll throw you in jail for attempted murder of one of this town's lawmen," Josiah answered again as his grip tightened. "Talk!"

The manager attempted to push the large man's hands off of him, then growled, "All right! Let go of me, please. I'll tell you all I know, but you need to protect me. Ellstin is my friend, but he has a mean temper on him. There's no telling what he'll do to me when he finds out I talked."

Josiah released his hold on the man as Chris responded, "We'll protect you so long as your information helps us protect Ezra."

"Your friend, Ezra, is my nephew," Joseph replied finally. "Maude was married to my brother, Clayton Higgins, the boy's biological father. But when Clayton died, I heard that Maude took back her maiden name, Samson, and began to travel all over the country, leaving Ezra with a number of her relatives along the way so that she could make a living for herself. She married a few more times and eventually became quite the gambler and con woman. Ezra was about twelve when she left him on my doorstep."

"Is that when your friend…?" Josiah started to ask, looking for a full name of the stranger.

Higgins stated, "Ellstin Lafayette."

Josiah continued, "Is that when Lafayette was around too?"

"Yes," the bank manager answered curtly. "Back then, he was one of my slaves on my plantation. I made him a free man after the war ended."

"We figured as much, seeing the way the man dresses," Chris responded. "Tell us what happened between him and Ezra."

Joseph Higgins nodded and replied, "Back then, Ezra was a good kid, who hated his mother's lifestyle, wanting nothing to do with what Maude was trying to get him to become, or so I gathered. The boy knew all sorts of card tricks, how to play poker and all other games, could con men and women better than he could read and write, but he only did it all when his mother was around. After she left him alone with me, he was sad and quiet. Ellstin may have been my slave, but he was also my friend and I invited him to play cards with me and my other friends often. When he got drunk, he became a different person; mean and cruel. Unfortunately, he took his anger out on Ezra."

Josiah glared at the man and suddenly punched him square across the jaw, then said angrily, "And you never stepped in to stop the man from hurting him! That explains what Ezra meant."

"And why he feels he needs to resign," Chris added in frustration. "Ezra's out there alone and he doesn't even know that Lafayette is here too, or that he's even in danger. Why is it that Lafayette wants Ezra dead?"

"I'm not saying anything else," Higgins answered coldly. "If you want to know the rest, you'll have to find your friend and get him to tell you the rest. If he doesn't tell you, then you'll never know."

Chris grabbed hold of the manager as he responded, "Joseph Higgins, I'm placing you under arrest. For now, it's just for conspiracy against one of our town's lawmen. The charges will most likely be amended to attempted murder later on."

Josiah grabbed the man, shoved him hard against the wall again, then replied cruelly, "If anything happens to our friend at all, I swear under God that I will see to it that you are sent to Hell after you are hung by the neck until death. Let's go."


	9. Chapter 9

Quick and the Dead

Chapter Nine

Ezra sat uncomfortably in the saddle upon his horse's back just outside the town's border on the east end, looking out at the horizon as the sun lowered and the darkness rose. Though their afternoon had been wild and eventful, the night had grown quiet and the air cool as the gambler had hoped it would. Ezra normally hated being put on patrol duty, but after seeing a man he never believed he would see again, a man who frightened him more than he cared to admit, he needed the quiet and alone time to think.

When his horse began to buck its head, then whinnied, Ezra broke from his reverie, reached into his coat's pocket, pulled out a couple of sugar cubes, then slowly fed them to the miraculous beast beneath him and patted its head gently as he spoke quietly, "There's no need to fear, my friend. All seems well, at least for tonight. In the morning, we shall leave this dreadful town for good and find us someplace where we can start over. I was a fool to think that I could settle here, to call it home, when a man like myself does not belong anywhere."

It was then that a voice from behind him spoke up softly saying, "You're wrong you know. You belong here as much as any one of us do."

"Mr. Tanner, I thought I warned you about sneaking up on a person," Ezra replied without turning to look at the tracker, who moved to pull his horse over alongside of his friend, as did Buck a few moments later. "It is liable to get yourself shot one day."

"It's done me well so far," Vin responded smugly. "I'm glad we found you. We think yer in danger, Ezra. Come back to town with us."

The conman looked between his friends in confusion and asked, "I don't understand, what are you saying?"

Buck quickly answered, "There's a man come to town, a friend of Mr. Higgins we think. Something's not right about 'im."

"I overheard 'em mention your name and something about a boy still being alive, as well as something about a scar," Vin added worryingly as he saw the blood drain from his friend's face and his usual, calm demeanor disappear. "There was more, but I couldn't hear much."

"Did this man have a Southern accent, Black?" Ezra asked, already really knowing the answer.

Vin simply nodded, seeing that he knew, then continued, "Buck and me tried following him after we saw 'im leave the hotel, but we lost him. He knows how to cover 'is tracks."

Ezra bowed his head to hide his face from the others beneath the brim of his hat and sadly replied, "It appears that I must leave sooner than I thought then."

"No, no… come on, Ez," Buck responded in fear for his friend. "There's seven of us. We do more than just protect this town."

"Buck's right," the former bounty hunter answered firmly. "We protect each other too. That includes you and you know it."

The gambler shook his head, then lifted it again to look between them as he replied, "Not anymore, gentlemen. Not this time. These men are my problems to deal with alone, however I see fit. Should you interfere, you will only suffer the consequences, which is something I cannot allow."

With that said, Ezra broke his horse into a run back toward the town, leaving both Vin and Buck behind in a cloud of dust until they swiftly followed after him. However, as they arrived back, Ezra quickly tied his horse up to one of the posts in front of the saloon, rushed inside and made his way up to his room, without another word to anyone.

Only Chris and Josiah were inside and watched the man wearing his bright red colored coat run up the stairs, then turned to look at their other friends in confusion as they came running into the tavern behind him when their leader spoke up asking, "What was that all about? Did you tell him?"

Buck responded, "Yeah we told him. It went about as well as we expected, but he's leaving, right now."

"Whoever Higgins and his friend are, they've got 'im spooked real good, pard," Vin added nervously. "He's not going to let us help him."

"The hell he ain't," Chris said as he motioned to Josiah to go up and talk with him. "It turns out that Higgins, is Ezra's uncle and all we really know is that the man never lifted a finger to help Ezra whenever Lafayette, our stranger, used to beat him when he was just a kid. There's a little more, but that doesn't much matter right now. Both Higgins and Lafayette are a real threat and we're going to make sure that they can't…"

Josiah suddenly came rushing to the top of the stairs as he shouted, "He's run out the back! Is his horse gone?"

J.D. came inside then as he looked between his friends as he asked, "Where's Ez goin' in such a hurry? Weren't we going to protect 'im?"

"Damn it!" Chris answered angrily as he ran outside and looked out in the direction that their Seventh headed off in. "Josiah and Nathan, the three of us are going after him in hope that we can convince him to allow us to help him. Vin, I want you, Buck, and J.D. to head out and see if you can't continue to track down the bastard that's started all of this. There may be someone out there that wants us all dead, but finding Ezra and making sure that he's safe is our priority right now."

"Don't worry, we'll find them," Vin replied with confidence, then quickly got back on top of his horse, as did Buck, both of whom waited for their sheriff to quickly saddle his own before they took off again.

Nathan looked at Chris as Josiah headed off toward the livery as well, then responded worryingly, "This is bad. I never thought I would see Ezra like this. He hides behind that mask of his too well, but now… Do you think I'm going to be needing my supplies?"

Without turning back to their healer, he leader of the Seven sadly answered, "I'm afraid that you will, Nathan."


	10. Chapter 10

Quick and the Dead

Chapter Ten

With hardly so much as another thought, Ezra grabbed what few things he knew he would need for however long his journey out on the desert trails would last, stuffed it all within one satchel and took off out the back of the tavern he had hoped he would one day own, a dream he knew now would never happen, then raced on top of his horse as far away from his life as he could get, knowing that the other Six would most likely try to chase after him for a while until they figured out he didn't want to be found.

Ezra hated himself for running from everything he has spent the last several months to build for himself the way that he had. The conman tried to explain what little he could without revealing the whole truth that tortured him deep inside, but he knew that Vin and Buck didn't understand, couldn't possibly understand, nor would the rest of their team, so he ran.

He realized that by doing so, his companions and the rest of the town, would all believe he was a coward, but the truth was that if he didn't, the people he had sworn to protect would suffer, because of him and it would be his fault alone. Maude had taught Ezra that the only way to survive the wild west was to look only after himself and to not care about what happened to anyone else, but becoming one of the Seven changed all that for the better, a gift the egotistical Southerner would never admit to anyone he appreciated, more than they could ever know.

The conman finally arrived in Eagle Bend after riding for almost a full day without stopping for more than a few minutes to rest and drink. He didn't even care about getting a bite to eat, but after riding for as long and for as hard as he did, Ezra knew that he had to stop or he would eventually collapse. So he dismounted and walked inside one of the town's saloons, ordered himself a bowl of soup and some meat, as well as a shot of whiskey and a beer, then threw down a few bills on the bar for the bartender to pay his bill, as well as a little extra so that the man wouldn't tell anyone he passed this way should anyone come looking for him.

"Are you a wanted man or something, son?" the man asked, looking at the gambler skeptically.

"I am simply looking to begin my life anew and to not allow my past to harm those I care about," Ezra responded sadly, then turned and walked away to take a seat at one of the establishment's tables and the man simply nodded and walked away to take care of the man's order while he pocketed the money.

Not caring if anyone heard him, the man spoke to one of his working girls and said coldly, "I doubt a man who walks, talks, and dresses like this rich fella cares about anyone beside himself."

The woman turned to look at the newcomer, seeing him as nothing more than a gambler and laughed, then replied, "Gamblers never do, honey."

Ezra cringed inwardly at the jests, then turned away from them and anyone else as he tuned them all out while he waited for his meal. Another of the women that worked there walked over and attempted to sit on his lap as she gently began to play with his hair, but he quickly pushed her away, apologized for his rudeness, before motioning for her to leave him be.

"He isn't going to be spending any more money here than he has to," she said coldly as she walked past the man who owned the place. "Maybe you'll have better luck."

"Maybe I will," the man stated as he picked up the tray of food for the patron, walked over and sat it down in front of the newcomer, then sat down across from him.

Ezra removed his hat as he looked at man he knew was the owner, and asked, "Can I help you, Mr….?"

The owner answered, "Owens, Tom Owens. And you are?"

"A man who is only looking to pass through before continuing on my way," Ezra responded coolly. "I do not plan on participating in any of your fine establishment's extracurricular activities, though I thank you just the same."

"Now hold on, you have yet to hear what we have to…" the owner continued until the Southerner raised his hand to cut him off.

Ezra replied, "I am not here to relax, Mr. Owens, nor do I wish to be insulted any further. I only wish to eat, drink, and then I will continue on my way."

Owens nodded and then answered, "Very well, I understand. You will have to forgive us. Our whole town is a bit on edge, after two from our community were murdered in cold blood only a few days ago out in their own homestead."

"Have you been able to catch who you believe did it yet?" the stranger asked as his lawman instincts kicked in.

"No, I'm afraid that the man we believe killed 'em ran out of town toward Four Corners and our posse we sent out after 'im has yet to return," the owner responded nervously at this man's sudden interest in the deaths. "Where is it that you say you were from?"

Ezra replied, "I didn't say, but I assure you that if your killer is in Four Corners and the men who have been sent after him inform the lawmen there of this man's crimes, they will indeed find him and bring him to justice. If you will excuse me, I am afraid I must continue on my way now. I thank you for the fine meal."

Tom Owens looked at Ezra as he got up to leave without finishing all of the food he had asked for, then answered, "I'm sure yer right, mister. Good luck out there."

"Yer goin' to need it," he added smugly to himself as he watched Ezra disappear out the door, then stood up and walked back to the bar, a smile appearing on his face as he got back to work.

"Something doesn't feel right here," Ezra spoke again quietly to his horse as the beast finished drinking from the horse trough before him as its master gently stroke his mane before attempting to mount him again. "It's time we continue on."

All of a sudden, Ezra was struck hard over the back of his head, causing the Southerner to crumble to the ground beneath him, then before he blacked out he heard a voice above him saying cruelly, "You're right about leaving boy, but not on your own power."

Another man came running over to the gambler's attacker and quickly helped him lift his body as he looked at his friend and asked, "Are you sure that this is a good idea? I mean we're not exactly doin' this discreetly."

"Relax, the sheriff and most of this town's men are out in the desert searching for Ellstin, even though they don't have a clue what he looks like," the man responded as he attempted to grab the horse's reins until the creature suddenly bolted free and ran off into the desert in the direction that it had come, causing its master's kidnappers to curse. "Forget the horse. We need to get him to Ellstin. According to his wire, he'll be waiting for us at his place just outside of Purgatory."

"I still don't like this," the other man replied fearfully. "People are watching us."

It was then that the tavern's owner walked out the back of his place where the men had carried Ezra around to and said angrily, "No one cares about two strangers attacking another stranger, who for all they know is a lousy, good for nothin' cheat. I stalled this gambler long enough for you two to git here, so stop yer complaining and do what you've both been paid to do."

One of Ezra's attackers smiled, then answered cockily, "Don't worry, we'll git 'im there. I hear Purgatory's nice this time of year."


	11. Chapter 11

Quick and the Dead

Chapter Eleven

Due to the heavy winds out in the wide open desert, Chris, Josiah, and Nathan were unable to continue tracking down the wayward gambler and their tracking skills were nothing compared to Vin's, which when Chris realized this caused the Seven's leader to curse for not having the former bounty hunter come with them. However, the three of them decided that their best option would be to head to Eagle Bend, as they had already travelled half way in that direction.

When they finally arrived after a long and exhausting trip, they wanted nothing more than to get a room and rest and eat, but knew that there wasn't much time. Most of the people around them simply stared at the strangers, each of whom seemed oddly out of place and made them nervous.

"It's been a long time since any of us have been down this way, but none of these people seem to recognize us," Nathan said quietly to his companions as they looked around.

"You'd think they'd remember us after having had to save them a few times from thieves and outlaws," Chris stated in agreement. "Let's head on over to the saloon. I doubt Ezra will be there still, but if he did stop here, that's where he would have gone. Josiah, did you remember to pack some of that blood money left over?"

The former preacher nodded and answered, "I never thought we'd be using it to ask questions in regards to Ezra's whereabouts. It's almost ironic. It may end up saving his life, again."

Chris almost laughed at the thought, but quickly remembered why they were there and spoke up again saying, "One can only hope."

"Excuse us, ma'am, but do you happen to know if there's a man here, who's dressed in a bright red coat, fancy boots, and has a Southern accent?" Nathan asked as a woman walked past them after the lawmen dismounted from their horses and started walking toward the tavern across the street. "Or did a man pass through here?"

"I don't know anyone by that description, young man," she replied curtly, then walked away quickly without another word.

Josiah watched her as she rushed off, then stated, "It looks like bringing the money along certainly was a good call."

Chris responded, "Let's just hope it's enough to make the people inside the tavern a little more forthcoming."

The three men asked several people the same questions in search of their friend, but no one knew, or didn't care to get involved with the lawmen's search. Even the offer of money didn't give them any help except confirmation that he had indeed passed through their town, bought something to eat and drink, then took off again. No one was willing to say which direction he left in. It wasn't until the three men took a seat at one of the saloon's tables until the establishment's owner walked over and took a seat across from them with an offer of a drink.

"Gentlemen, I hear that you've been lookin' for that gambler fella who passed through here a few hours ago," the man said calmly with a smug look on his face, causing the three of the Seven to immediately hate the man sitting before them.

"That's right," Chris answered coolly. "He's a friend of ours. Everyone's seen 'im, but no one seems to have seen which way he went. What about you?"

The man nodded and replied, "Yes, Mr. Larabee, I know exactly where Mr. Standish is, or least, where he will be soon."

Understanding that this man was dangerous and that he had done something to cause trouble for Ezra, Chris moved his hand down to the handle of his gun as he glared at the owner and responded, "You know exactly who me and my friends are, which means that you also know that if anything happens to him, you will suffer the consequences. Where is he? What have you done to him?"

"I haven't done anything to him, but a few of my friends have and they've taken your friend for me," Owens answered coldly as he pulled out some things hidden inside his jacket and roughly tossed down Ezra's hat, red coat, and the deck of cards he always carried on him, then held up his right hand to reveal their friend's gold ring with a red stone in its middle as a way of proving his story, causing the three lawmen's faces to grow hard.

Suddenly and unexpectedly, Josiah stood as he grabbed the man by his throat, shoved him hard against one of the posts in the middle of the room, then growled angrily, "We already asked you once, where is he?"

As Nathan collected the gambler's things from off the table, Chris pulled one of his guns and put it in the man's face and shouted louder, "You heard him! Tell us what we want to know or I'll let our friend squeeze."

"No you won't," Tom replied with a chuckle as Josiah's grip tightened. "You may be a lot of things, but you're not killers, at least not cold hearted murderers. If you want to see your friend again, I can take you to go see him, but you are going to have to do so, only on my conditions. Refuse, and Standish dies. You'll never find him without my offer. At least not until his cold, dead body is delivered back to you."

"Who are you working for?" Chris asked in confusion. "Did Ezra do something that you didn't like, or did someone else hire you to kidnap him? What is this about?"

The smug man stared at the preacher still holding his throat as he responded, "Someone did hire me to take your friend for him and I will tell you who, as soon as you agree to my demands, beginning with having your large guard dog here release me."

Chris nodded to Nathan, who reached out to try to calm Josiah down enough to let the man go, though he swiftly yanked his friend's ring off of the man's hand before letting go completely, then Chris finally spoke again saying, "We agree to your conditions. And we'll come with you unarmed."

"And blindfolded and with your wrists bound to the saddles of your horses," Owens added quickly. "What do you say, gentlemen?"

"Chris, you're not seriously considering this, are you?" Nathan asked in frustration as he turned to their leader. "I want to save Ezra too, but we can't possibly…"

Larabee cut his friend off as he lowered both of his guns down on the table, motioning for his men to follow suit, then answered, "We'll do it. Now, who hired you?"

The saloon's owner smiled and replied, "My friends are delivering Mr. Standish to a man by the name of Ellstin Lafayette."

Meanwhile, in Four Corners…

"Buck, Vin, it looks like a posse is comin'," J.D. shouted as he came running toward his friends from the jail near the edge of town. "A posse's comin'!"

"What the hell do these guys want?" Buck stated as he and Vin stepped out of the saloon and headed toward their other friend and the men continuing their approach into the town. "Kid, did any wire come though looking for anybody?"

The young sheriff shook his head as he responded, "No, at least not that I know of. What do you think they want?"

Vin stared at the men as he answered, "It looks like we're about to find out."

"Gentlemen, can you tell us where we can find the sheriff of this town?" one of them asked as they remained on top of their horses while looking down at the gunmen before them.

"Yer lookin' at him," J.D. replied quickly as he showed them his badge pinned to his chest. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Another of the men responded, "We're lookin' for a man who killed two homesteaders in Eagle Bend. We don't know who he is or what he looks like, but we believe he was headed this way. Have you had any strangers come into town lately, maybe in the last day or so?"

Vin looked at them as he answered, "We've had all kinds of strangers coming in for the big tournament. It could be any one of them. You're welcome to stick around and talk to them if you'd like."

"Thank you, we will," Eagle Bend's own sheriff replied coolly as he motioned for the others to follow him as they all rode past the three lawmen to settle their horses up in the livery.

"Do you think that they're lookin' fer this Lafayette guy too?" J.D. asked as he turned back to his friends.

Vin shrugged and responded, "I don't know, J.D., but if he is, it don't matter. We'll be the ones bringing this bastard in. We should have continued on our search last night."

Buck put his hand on his friend's shoulder as he answered, "You know as well as I do that we never would've made it out in that sandstorm fighting its way through the desert. Hopefully Chris and the others found themselves a place to hide; Ezra too, if he's even still out there in it."

"They're fine," Vin replied confidently. "But we need to git out there after 'em. We'll head toward Eagle Bend, the same as the others. Though I hate to leave town with no one here to guard it while the tournament begins. The Judge won't like us all leavin'."

"Don't worry about the Judge," Mary responded as she came walking over to them. "You have a duty to each other just have you have a duty here. My father might not like it, but he will understand eventually. And as for protection, I've already spoken with a number of the men in town, as well as a few lawmen from other cities visiting for the games. They're all willing to help us out. Go and find Mr. Standish, and bring him home. He won't want to miss the whole tournament."


	12. Chapter 12

Quick and the Dead

Chapter Twelve

Vin, Buck, and J.D. were finishing saddling their horses and preparing to leave when the noon stage came rolling in and within a few minutes, three people stepped out, one of whom was Judge Travis. Buck couldn't help, but shake his head at their luck that the man they were hoping to avoid would happen to show up right then.

The three lawmen simply ignored him until the judge noticed the men as the cowboy and sheriff mounted their horses, walked over to them, and then asked, "Gentlemen, and where are we off too? It looks as though you're planning on being gone for longer than an afternoon."

Vin nodded as he too mounted his own horse, then replied, "That's right, Judge. An urgent matter has come to our attention."

"And what about the rest of you?" the older man asked again as his daughter and grandson joined him in the street. "They don't appear to be around here either. I expected you boys here for the duration of the tournament. There needs to be law around to dissuade the ruffians from seeking any kind of retaliation."

"Don't worry, Judge," Mary quickly said as she placed her hands on her father's shoulders. "We've got it all under control."

Buck continued to explain as he spoke up saying, "Chris and the others went out last night in search of Ezra, who ran out of here in a hurry. Some stranger, who's also on the run, had him pretty spooked and we believe it was for good reason. We're just trying to piece it all together."

Vin cut in as he said, "We need to get goin'. One of us is in trouble. If you want to know what we know so far, talk to the man you hired to be this town's newest bank manager. You'll find him in the jail in his own private cell. He's the one that started this whole mess."

"Joseph Higgins?" Travis stated in confusion. "What does he have to do with this? He is highly qualified and I've met the man. I like him and he came rec…"

"Recommended, we know," J.D. interrupted angrily. "Just talk to him. Ask him what he did to Ezra, then tell us that you still like 'im. Let's git out of here."

Judge Travis watched the three men ride off, then turned to his daughter and asked, "Is what they're sayin' true? Standish really is in trouble?"

Mary nodded and answered, "Yes Judge. And I'm worried that when the others find Mr. Standish that they'll be in trouble too."

"Don't worry, darlin'," he responded as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her on the head. "They'll all be just fine."

Just outside of Purgatory…

Tom Owens and four other men with him, escorted the three bound and blinded lawmen, who had come out in search of the gambler brought to their boss earlier by another group of their men. The ride through the desert was long and hot. Luckily, the prisoners were given enough water to sustain them on the trek, but by the time their horses came to a final stop, having arrived at their destination, Chris, Nathan, and Josiah were weary, though still on guard for a fight should it be necessary for them in order to escape once they find their missing friend.

Finally, Owens' men dragged the lawmen down from their horses and ripped off their blindfolds so that they could walk without more than a push in the right direction as they made their way toward a large farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. The area was unrecognizable for the prisoners, which was exactly what Ellstin Lafayette wanted when he found this land to hide on.

"Nice home," Chris spoke cynically before anyone had the chance to say anything else. "I'm guessing that your boss didn't acquire this place legally."

The Black stranger responsible for all their troubles walked out onto the front porch of the homestead and upon hearing the Seven's leader's remarks, he replied, "You are very shrewd, Chris Larabee, isn't it?"

Chris glared at the man before him as he and his friends were dragged toward the structure, wrists still bound in front of them, then he answered sternly, "That's right. And you must be Ellstin Lafayette. Where's Ezra?"

"Right to the point," Ellstin responded mockingly. "I like that, I really do. I have to say I was wondering if you and your boys would actually come. Ezra didn't believe you would. The man loves to talk. He acts smug and conceited, but I can see right through him. He doesn't really have that high of an opinion of himself."

"That's because of scum like you," Josiah replied coldly.

Lafayette nodded in agreement, then answered, "Perhaps so, but I think it might also be because the men that claim to be his friends never saw him as anything more than what he allows you to."

Nathan cut off the argument as he called out, "Enough talk! Bring us to him now! I want to make sure he's alright."

"Don't worry, gentlemen," the man now walking in front of them responded as he and the rest of the criminals escorted them inside the farmhouse to a room upstairs where they discovered the seventh member of their team, sitting down in a chair pulled up to a large, round table in front of him, an armed guard standing behind him with a gun now pointed at the back of his head as the other lawmen entered. "As you can see, he's perfectly fine, except perhaps a slight headache from one of my men knocking him unconscious for his journey here."

"Are you alright, Ezra?" Josiah asked the Southern gambler as he focused on the smaller man while the armed men surrounding them worked on tethering the other three's wrists high above them to separate hooks hanging down from the ceiling and left the room, leaving the four lawmen alone, except for the one man still holding his gun on the conman.

Ezra shook his head in disdain and replied, "I am not exactly enjoying the company and as our host has been so keen to observe, I've got a rather pounding headache, but despite all of that, Mr. Jackson, I am about as well as can be expected. You shouldn't be here. I warned Mr. Tanner and Mr. Wilmington that this matter was something for me to deal with on my own, and that should you come after me… These men won't hesitate to kill each of you! Why did you have to come here, for me of all people?"

Chris answered in frustration, "Because, despite how obstinate and pigheaded you can be, you are still one of us."

"You're wrong, Mr. Larabee," Ezra responded sadly. "I thought for a fleeting moment that I could be, but I was a fool. You need to find an escape, then leave this dismal place before you get yourselves killed."

"Damn it, Ezra, now is not the time to start acting all noble and self-sacrificing," Nathan said angrily, though not really being angry at him, understanding the reasons now for how the conman truly felt. "We're all going to get out of here."

It was then that Ellstin came back into the room as he replied, "It's possible that a few of you might walk away from here alive, but that all depends on Ezra's skills as a gambler."

Ezra glared coldly at the man now towering over him as he spoke in confusion saying, "I beg your pardon?"

"How would you like to play a few rounds of cards with me, as we would have done were we in that small town of yours for the tournament?" Lafayette asked as he took a seat in the chair across from Ezra, whose eyes remained steadfast on his enemy from his past. "And while we play, perhaps we can share stories about how you and I met when you were just a child."

"As much as I may enjoy gambling under normal circumstances, I refuse to play with a man as vial such as yourself," Ezra answered coolly.

Ellstin smiled and responded, "Even if the stakes are the lives of your friends? I have three of them, Ezra. So we will play three rounds. If you win the first one, I will set free one friend of your own choosing, completely unharmed, and so on and so forth… What do you say now?"

Ezra looked between each of his friends, then finally turned back to the man before him and replied, "I may gamble with other people's money, my own, as well as my own life, but I never have, nor will I ever wager the lives of another human being, least of all the men I consider my friends. They can take care of themselves. My answer is no. You will have to kill me."

"Even if I threaten to kill one of them right now in front of you instead?" the Black Southerner asked as he pulled out his gun and aimed it directly between Chris' eyes and cocked back its hammer. "Your precious leader perhaps?"

"You can do this, Ez," Chris said confidently, though he felt fear for what this might do to their friend, especially if he were to lose.

Josiah added, "We have complete faith in your abilities, brother, and in you."

Nathan nodded in agreement as Ezra looked over at him as well, then he turned back to his enemy and answered, "Very well, I accept your terms, but I will need some assurances that my friends will indeed be set free unharmed. Do we have an agreement?"

"Agreed," he responded. "Let's begin. This is going to be fun."

"Perhaps for one of us," Ezra stated calmly, refusing to let his own fear show, like he always hid behind the mask he kept in place.


	13. Chapter 13

Quick and the Dead

Chapter Thirteen

"Look!" J.D. cried out as he saw a horse out in the distance as he and his friends were making their way toward Eagle Bend in search of their friends. "No one's riding 'im."

"It looks like Ezra's horse," Vin responded as he swiftly rode up to the beast and carefully looked it over for verification, then lowered his head in frustration. "It is. It's Ezra's horse. His satchel's still here, with what little he brought with him still here, I think. I also found some blood, not a lot, but…"

Buck interrupted sadly, "He is in trouble, damn! That means that the others are running into danger too. The question is, where are they?"

J.D. looked in the direction that their friend's animal had ridden from, then turned back to them as he answered, "He must have come from Eagle Bend. That's where Chris, Nathan, and Josiah were headed and that's the only town in this direction."

"Unless they went past the town," Vin replied. "They could be anywhere by now. My gut's tellin' me that going to Eagle Bend is a waste of time. We may be too late to save Ezra if we do."

"So what are you saying?" Buck asked in confusion. "Where should we go?"

Vin thought for a moment as he looked back toward the direction they had come from, then looked at his two friends again and responded, "Joseph Higgins knows more than he's sayin'. If we're going to find them in time, we need to know exactly where they are. We need to go back, to get Higgins to tell us everything. Hopefully the Judge will be willing to let us do whatever we have to do to get it out of 'im."

J.D. asked, "And if he isn't?"

"He will, kid," Buck answered for the tracker. "Don't you worry. He trusts us."

Back in Purgatory…

"So, which of your friends shall we play for first, Ezra?" Ellstin asked the silent young man sitting across from him casually as if they were playing any ordinary game.

Without looking up at the man who has caused him so much pain and terror, keeping his eyes down on the deck of cards lying out on the table in front of him, the conman replied stoically, "I don't suppose it much matters to you, does it? You have high confidence in your abilities and believe that I will lose. Who you kill first doesn't matter in the slightest."

Lafayette smiled as he responded, "No, it doesn't, but if you want, I could choose for you?"

Ezra finally looked at his enemy and answered, "I choose Nathan."

"No Ezra," the healer quickly stated nervously. "You should pick either Chris or Josiah first."

"I'm afraid that wouldn't be the best decision, Mr. Jackson," the gambler replied as he turned to look over at his friends. "Though, they are just as important, I am afraid that your skills as a healer is the reason why I must choose to save you, as the odds that I win all three hands will only worsen as time passes. The town needs you, Nathan."

Tom Owens spoke up from where he was sitting in the corner of the room saying, "A noble sentiment. Let's get on with this, Mr. Lafayette. I'm getting bored. You did promise us some entertainment."

Ellstin nodded and responded, "Indeed I did. Very good, we're playing for the life of Mr. Jackson. He would have been my choice as well. He was one of the only decent men I met while staying in that old dustbowl of a town."

"I knew there was something wrong about you," Nathan said coldly. "Why are you doing this?"

"I guess now is as good a time as any," Lafayette answered as he started to shuffle the cards to begin playing.

Ezra's eyes softened as he turned back to the man threatening him and his friends and pleaded, "Please, if there's any decency in you, I beg you not to tell them about our history."

Ellstin looked at Ezra cruelly as he replied, "You mean you don't wish for them to know that I used to beat you senseless time and time again?"

"There's no shame in being weak," he continued after pausing a moment to observe the younger man with pride as Ezra lowered his head and turned away to hide his shame from his friends, knowing that he was about to say would not embarrass the boy from long ago, but simply bring back the fear he saw in him on the night he believed he had killed him. "One night, I began to beat him, just like any other night, but this time, he decided to be brave and fight back, though his courage didn't last long. He scarred my face and neck by striking me with a hot fire poker from the house's fireplace. I threw Ezra here out with the rest of the slaves I was in charge of and gave them the order to beat him to death. I watched for a while, but I eventually got bored. Apparently they stopped hurting him after I left. The next day I had them all killed, slaughtered like cattle in order to keep any of them from talking to the Pinkertons about my having killed one of their agents earlier that afternoon. I should have made sure you were dead, boy. I didn't think to look among the dead bodies to see if you were still breathing. But, my mistake has brought us here now, again and tonight I will finish what I began long ago."

"You will kill Ezra over my cold, dead body, you heartless bastard," Josiah seethed in anger as he stared coldly at the man who had caused his friend, a man he had begun to see as something more of a son, so much pain. "I swear to God, I will kill you. I will kill you!"

The preacher growled as he struggled to break free from his binds, as did Chris, and Nathan, but their struggles weren't enough. The cords around their wrists and the hook they were hanging from held firm. The three lawmen realized that even if Ezra won the game his enemy had now begun, he never did have the true intention of setting them free, which meant that they would have to find a way to free themselves and Ezra too. For now, they settled with hoping that Vin, J.D., and Buck were coming to find them.


	14. Chapter 14

Quick and the Dead

Chapter Fourteen

Ezra pushed his anger and the shame of his past deep inside like he's done for so long up until now, knowing that he needed to focus on the game at hand once Ellstin finally started dealing the cards, then waited for him to make the first move. The Southern gambler stared at the cruel man sitting beside him, waiting for Ellstin to expose his tell, a talent for which Ezra excelled at no matter how invisible it appeared to be or how hard his opponents tried to hide them. It was only a matter of time.

Lafayette was the first to talk again since the room had finally grown silent after Ezra's darkest secret was revealed, when he said to the younger man, "So, you never told anyone, including your own mother, what happened all those years ago. I can imagine you must have been in shock after all those slaves did to you, after all I did to you, but not even after you grew up. I am impressed."

Ezra cringed as he tossed down two cards and picked up two more to replace them, then to draw the man's attention away from their friend, Chris spoke up asking, "How did you know Ezra was going to be in Eagle Bend? And how did your men know to nab him for you?"

"Because, as soon as I learned that this kid had survived after all these years, I sent out a wire to associates I have spread throughout this entire territory, asking them to be on the lookout for him, then I left Four Corner to come here," Ellstin answered smugly as he turned his head to look over at the Seven's leader. "As he's one of you, I knew his name would be well known. I figured he would run like the coward that he is once he learned of my arrival in your town and I was right. Upon receiving word that he had gone to Eagle Bend, I waited for these men to bring him here to me and I paid them handsomely for their diligence. I am a powerful man. Money and influence gets you whatever you want in this life."

"Not everything," Ezra responded passively and then he raised his eyes from his cards to the man before him. "You may want to focus more on the game at hand, rather than inane chit chat. If you had, you would have seen that you were about to lose the first round. I call and lay down a full house. It isn't the best hand mind you, but I am willing to bet that it beats whatever you hold in your own."

"It does," Lafayette replied as he laid down his cards to reveal that Ezra was right, then he looked at him with curiosity. "How did you know that?"

The younger man's face remained stoic, but Ellstin saw all that he needed to as he answered his own question stating, "You've already figured out my tell. That is mighty impressive. Joseph told me he had heard that you were good. He was right. What is it? Do my eyes twitch when I draw a good card, did I lift up my foot off of the floor, or did I tap my fingers on my leg?"

Ezra answered coolly, "You're simply not as good as you think you are. Now, keep your word and release Nathan as was agreed. Or was that all talk, something in order to get me to agree to play against you?"

"No, no, don't worry now," the former slave responded with a smile. "I am a man of my word. I am going to set your healer friend free. Tom, will you and one of the men cut him down please?"

Owens did as he was ordered while Nathan struggled against them, but shook his head in disdain as he replied, "This is a mistake. Why do you want to let them go? They are the Magnificent Seven. This darkie will only go back to the rest of his friends and then they'll come after us."

While Ezra prepared himself to step in to help his friend should they try to harm him, despite the man with the gun still being behind him with the weapon trained on him, Lafayette walked out of the room with his men and Nathan as they escorted him down the stairs and outside to the porch, then they handed the healer a canteen and shoved him forward toward the open desert.

Nathan looked down at the canister in his hands, then back at the men behind him and stated, "I don't understand. What is this?"

"I gave Ezra my word," Ellstin answered without any resentment or disappointment in his voice. "He won the first hand fair and square, Mr. Jackson. You are free to go."

"By setting me loose into the desert?" Nathan scoffed as he opened the flask and smelled the liquid inside, then placed it inside his jacket and stared out into the clear sky. "You don't expect me to survive out there without any food and only one canteen of water."

Ellstin responded, "But you do have a chance. Whether you live or die is up to you. Now, get going before I change my mind and have my men kill you."

Once Nathan finally begins walking away, Tom Owens steps up beside his boss and asked, "Do you think that he'll make it all the way into town?"

"No, I really don't," the evil man in charge replied, sounding almost sad as the healer was the one of the men he actually felt some respect for, as the two of them shared a similar background. "But if by chance he does, the people in Purgatory will most certainly finish him off for me. From what I hear, the Magnificent Seven have a reputation there, especially this, Chris Larabee. Even if Ezra does win all three hands, they are all as good as dead, one way or another."

"I really like the way you think, boss," the saloon owner stated with pleasure as he patted Ellstin on his back. "I guess that this isn't such a bad plan after all."


	15. Chapter 15

Quick and the Dead

Chapter Fifteen

"We don't have time to mess around, Mr. Higgins, so I suggest you tell us what we want to know," Vin said coldly as he, Buck, and J.D. charged into the jail once again, almost out of breath after riding back into town as fast as their horses could get them there. "This time, don't stop."

"I already told you everything I'm going to tell you," the bank manager replied from inside the cell without really looking at the lawmen as they moved to stand in front of the cell's bars. "I won't betray my friend."

J.D. became angry as he cried out, "Why are you protectin' 'im? He left you behind to be arrested. He doesn't care 'bout you, or anyone."

Buck continued, "We want to know where he went from here. He's got our friend thanks to you. Right now, there's a good chance that you'll only receive a few years in Yuma prison for your participation in what's happened, but if anything happens to Ezra or the others, then we'll see to it that you suffer the same fate as Lafayette when we do find him."

"If you're so confident you'll find him, then why do you need me?" Mr. Higgins asked when he stood from the cot he had been sitting on, then slowly walked toward them. "Are you afraid you won't be in time to save a good for nothing gambler? There are plenty more in town as we speak. I'm certain you'll be able to find another to replace Standish."

"Why you son of a…!" Buck growled angrily as he tried to reach through the bars to grab the man until both Vin and J.D. quickly grabbed him to pull him back.

Vin quickly stated, "Take it easy, Buck. Believe me, I would love nothing more to strangle 'im myself, but it won't help Ezra or the others any. Mr. Higgins, please tell us where we can find him. We can't set you free, but surely there is something you want that we can trade for."

J.D. scoffed, "You can't be serious? We can't give this man some kind of reward for all the trouble he's caused. He's the one who started all of this by telling Lafayette Ezra's here!"

"Don't worry, Sheriff," Judge Travis said as he walked into the jail behind the three lawmen. "If Joseph Higgins did indeed do all that you say he did, then he will be receiving nothing, but the full punishment for his crimes."

"Oren?" the manager responded in surprise when the man who hired him for his position walked into the room. "Sir, I promise that what these men are saying isn't true. I mean, I am not a criminal, only a man trying to survive in this lousy world."

The judge looked at the man he thought could be trusted, then answered curtly, "Save it, Joseph. If you want protection from this so called friend it's clear that you are so afraid of, then you have it, so long as you tell my men what they want they want to know. If you don't tell them, I'll let them do whatever they need to do to get you to talk. I don't want that. I don't believe in that kind of violence even if it is to get information, but I'd rather not have to arrest them for going over my head and breaking the law."

Joseph Higgins swallowed nervously as he looked around between the men in front of him for any sign of deception and when he saw none on any of their faces, he finally relented as he spoke up saying, "Ellstin is a rich and powerful man, with many associates who work for him, who do anything that he tells them to do. Finding him will not be your problem, taking him down is."

"You let us worry about that," Vin replied coldly. "Where is he?"

"There's a farmhouse several miles south outside of Purgatory he told me he had acquired," the manager responded as he sat back down on the cot in defeat. "I didn't ask how, I didn't want to know. If you talk to a woman who lives in town by the name of Charlotte Alva, you will be able to found out exactly where the homestead is. She won't like it, but that's between you and her. Look, after what Ellstin did all those years ago…"

J.D. looked at him as he interrupted out of curiosity, "What did he do that makes him such a monster?"

Joseph looked at the young man sadly and answered, "Ellstin is my friend because we go a long way back. He saved my life twice, once during the war. You may think that I'm a monster too for not telling anyone about the horrible things I know he did, but I couldn't and it's not just because I fear him. I owe him. However, it seems I've already betrayed him and keeping his secrets is killing me. I already told you he used to beat your friend mercilessly when he was just a kid. What I didn't say was that Ezra one night tried to fight back, only to be punished severely and I didn't try to stop him. Most of the slaves I owned then were cruel because Ellstin pushed them, punished them, made them…"

"Get to the point, Mr. Higgins," Vin stated impatiently, knowing they needed to get going.

"The night Ezra tried to fight back, Ellstin dragged him out amongst the other slaves and ordered them to beat the kid to death," the man continued as J.D. gasped and the other two simply glared angrily at the man being protected by the bars between them. "They tortured him and before they finished, I think he became bored so he walked away. I don't know what happened to Ezra after that. He survived somehow. Then there was this Pinkerton agent who came by…"

Judge Travis cut Mr. Higgins off when he replied, "Joseph can finish telling me the rest of this story. You boys have a job to do. Go and save Mr. Standish and the rest of our friends."

Buck responded, "Thank you, Sir. Let's go, J.D."

"Are we going to find him in time, Buck?" the young sheriff asked once they were outside again and started to mount their horses to leave town once again. "This, Lafayette is more than just a monster. He sounds like he's more evil than the devil himself."

"Don't worry, kid," Vin answered confidently, even though he was starting to doubt it himself. "Ez is going to be fine and we're goin' to find this devil, then send him back to Hell."


	16. Chapter 16

Quick and the Dead

Chapter Sixteen

When Ellstin, Tom Owens, and the other men walked back into the room a few minutes later, Chris spoke quickly asking, "Where's Nathan? What did you do?"

The saloon owner looked at the darkly dressed gunslinger, then down at Ezra, who was also looking over at him for confirmation, and responded casually, "Don't worry, Mr. Larabee. Your doctor friend is fine. Or, at least he will remain that way so long as he paces himself with the water given to him. We set him free to walk through the desert toward the town miles from here. It's possible to survive, but that's up to him."

"Go ahead boys, have your fun," Lafayette said coolly as three of his thugs walked over to Ezra, pulled him roughly from his seat, then suddenly shoved him hard to the ground and began to beat on him, stomping their feet across his back and legs, as well as kicking him in his stomach, all while their boss stood on as he watched with pleasure. "Just don't hurt him too badly. I need him well enough to play the next rounds."

"Stop it, you bastards!" Josiah shouted angrily as he and Chris continued to struggle against the cords that bound them to the heavy hooks above them. "I swear, I will bring God's wrath down upon you!"

Ezra fought to stifle his cries of pain the best he could, though he couldn't help, but emit a few moans and whimpers as the brutal onslaught continued. This torture was nothing new to the conman. He had been beaten numerous times back when he was just a child, not to mention the number of times he received kicks or punches for failing in his cons, gambling with the wrong people, as well as in his work as a lawman. What bothered him most was the humiliation from his past rearing up again and getting his friends involved.

Chris spoke up asking cruelly, "You think hurting Ezra will increase your odds in winning this ludicrous game you've cooked up?"

Ellstin shrugged his head as he lit a cigar and placed it into mouth, then looked over at Chris as he replied, "Perhaps, but that isn't why my men are doin' this. You see, I gave my men my word that they would get to have some fun when you and your friends got here. If Ezra keeps winning… His reward is that his friends get to be set free without a scratch, but my men need someone to work their aggression out on. It's part of their reward, for working for me."

"If your men don't stop they're going to kill him!" the Seven's leader shouted as he looked down on their friend and noticed that Ezra was slowly beginning to lose consciousness from the assault. "Call 'em off!"

"You heard the man boys, leave 'im be," the villain called out as the men finally let up and stepped back, then left the room to cool off.

Ezra remained still, his eyes closed, and it was clear to everyone still in the room that he had become unconscious despite the abrupt end to the beating. Lafayette moved and knelt over the younger man as he placed his hand on Ezra's back, then blew smoke in his face. His captive didn't even flinch.

Owens finally asked, "So, is he still breathing?"

Ellstin stood and looked between the two lawmen as he answered, "Yes, he's just fine. A bit worse for wear, but he should be awake again soon. Then, we can move on with the next round. I'll be back in a while to check in on 'im."

"Ezra? Ezra!" Chris tried calling out while fighting to break the bonds, even though he didn't really expect his friend to respond. "Come on! Break, damn it!"

"When we do get out of here, I plan to give him the same beating before I put a bullet through his brain," Josiah grumbled coldly.

"Not if… you are dead," Ezra replied weakly as he struggled to move from off the spot where he lay on the floor in the middle of the room until he broke into a coughing fit. "Sometimes a con… is necessary. Neither… of you would be… suffering… this indig… indignity if you didn't… come…. It was… foolish."

Josiah looked down at the gambler in surprise as he stated, "You're awake?"

As he managed to crawl over to the table within the room and lay his back against it to help him sit up further off the ground and simply nodded as he wiped blood away from the corner of his mouth, then Chris quickly asked, "Do you think you can make your way over to break us free?"

Ezra laid out his arm as a small pocket knife slipped out from his sleeve and looked down, then he answered, "I have the means…, just not… the streng… strength."

"You sly son of a… you stole that thing off of one of Lafayette's men!" Chris exclaimed eagerly. "Come on, Ezra. If you plan on livin'…"

"It's you gentlemen, who need… to survive," Ezra interrupted curtly as he fought to lift himself up further. "My mistakes have caught… up to me. I will… try to help you… escape, but…. I'm not one of you any longer."

Josiah responded firmly, "Don't go on talkin' like that, brother. We told you, you do belong with us."

Ezra finally managed to get to his feet as he leaned up against the table and finally shouted, "I don't! I told you, I'm not one of you! Do you not understand… you could die here… be… cause of me? When you get the chance… you best leave."

"We won't be leaving here without you, Ezra," Chris replied and was about to continue until heard movement from outside the room, as did the gambler, who quickly pulled the knife back into his sleeve just as Tom walked in again and smiled when he saw that Ezra was already awake.

"Well I'll be," Owens stated smugly. "You are resilient. I suppose you'd have to be to survive being a lawman out here. I'll go let Ellstin know yer awake. We can get on with the game sooner than he expected."

Ezra answered, "I'll be waiting."

When the man left the room again, not bothering to bind the prisoner up as he was too weak to try anything, Ezra looked over at Chris and caught his eye, then with as much strength as he could muster up, the Southerner pitched the knife directly at the leader of the Seven, who caught the folded blade in his hand and tucked it away as Ezra had, to wait for the opportune moment to use it. The effort caused Ezra to collapse again to the floor as he lost what little strength he had left.

In order to try to get his friend's focus off of the dire situation, Chris smiled as he spoke again saying, "Nice toss."

"Indeed," the younger man struggled to respond. "Now, once Nathan… and the others arrive… get free and leave… while you can."

"We all leave, together," Josiah replied assuredly.

Before their captors returned, Ezra turned his eyes to look up at the preacher and asked softly, "Mr. Sanchez, tell me truth… truthfully, did you happen to see… one of your crows this morning?"

Understanding quickly what his comrade was really asking, Josiah shook his head and stated gently, "No, Ezra. There were no birds in sight."

"Standish, Tom here has informed me you were awake and anxious to get on with our game," their captor said as he walked into the room again and saw that his associate had told him the truth. "Have you chosen who you shall play to save next?"

"I choose Mr. Larabee," Ezra answered as he raised his head to look directly at the man now standing above him.


	17. Chapter 17

Quick and the Dead

Chapter Seventeen

"You need to choose Josiah, not me," Chris objected in frustration, despite the understanding that had come between the gambler and the preacher. "I don't care if he's seen his crows or not."

"I choose you, Mr. Larabee, because… if it was in… the cards for Mr. Sanchez… to die… today… he would have seen that… which he fears," Ezra answered before Tom and another of Lafayette's men grabbed him and pulled him up off the ground to help him to his seat at the table once again. "The odds of me winning… all three, my… talents aside, is slim. I must choose…"

Knowing it was a struggle for Ezra to continue talking, let alone remain upright enough to play, Chris finally relented as he interrupted, "All right, I understand. Let's get this damned game over with."

Without turning to look at the gunslinger, as he concentrated on shuffling and dealing the cards once again, Ellstin spoke up asking, "In a hurry to die, Mr. Larabee?"

"We'll see who dies here today," Chris replied cruelly.

"I suppose we will," the villain responded smugly as he looked over his hand and stared at Ezra as he waited for the younger man before him to make his first move.

Meanwhile…

The road from Four Corners to the wretched and dangerous town of Purgatory was rough, as the wind out within the desert had hardly subsided since the lawmen had returned from their unsuccessful search for Lafayette the night before. However, Vin, Buck, and J.D. refused to allow the treacherous ride derail their search for their friends any longer.

Hours passed and the three lawmen finally arrived, hot, tired, and hungry, but as they entered the saloon, it being the place most likely to find answers, they walked to the bar as Buck stated gruffly, "My friends and I are looking for a woman by the name of Charlotte Alva. Have you or anyone else here seen her lately?"

The man pushed the cowboy's hands off of him as he answered coldly, "I ain't seen her today. What's yer business with her?"

"We need her to help us locate a man by the name of Ellstin Lafayette," Vin replied as he pulled Buck back to keep him from attacking the man again. "You ever hear of him?"

"No, sure haven't," the bartender responded coldly. "Best of luck to you though."

Another voice sounded from behind the newcomers and they turned around to see a barmaid standing before them as she asked, "What's yer business with Ellstin? If you want money…"

J.D. quickly answered, "No ma'am, it ain't money we're after. We're lawmen from Four Corners."

"Well then, I haven't seen 'im either," the Black woman replied as she turned and started to walk away until Vin stepped forward and quickly grabbed her by her arm to stop her. "Git yer hands off of me!"

"Please Charlotte," Vin pleaded as he looked at her sadly, hoping that this was the woman Joseph Higgins had said for them to seek out. "The man you all are protectin' have taken at least one of our friends captive, and possibly three more. All we want is to find 'im so we can save 'em. We know the man has taken refuge in some old farmhouse somewhere not far from here. If you know it…"

The barmaid responded, "I love Ellstin and he loves me, so if you think that I'm goin' to tell you boys where you can find 'im, you can forget it! Now, I suggest you git out of here before I have my friends throw you out."

Buck glared at the woman as he asked cruelly, "If he loves you so much, why are here and not wherever he is with him?"

"I choose to work," she answered angrily. "He had business to attend to. I'm not one to stand in his way."

"Fine, how about you name yer price?" Vin asked after a moment of hesitation.

She smiled coolly, then shook her head as she replied, "You can't put a price on love, boys. Now, beat it!"

The three lawmen finally gave up as they turned away and walked out of the saloon, then J.D. looked over at the tracker as he asked, "What if she said yes? We don't have that kind of money. We don't have any money."

"We don't, but Ez does, or did," Vin responded as he pulled a wad of bills from inside his coat. "I found it in his parcel that came back with his horse. I was surprised, as he usually keeps his money tucked away in his boot, but… I don't think Ezra was really thinkin' good before he darted out of town. He must a' just grabbed his things and bolted."

"Ezra wouldn't be too pleased with you goin' around and offering 'is money to complete strangers," Buck said as he chuckled, thinking about what his Southerner friend would say if he were there with them.

Vin smiled sadly as he answered, "I'm sure he wouldn't mind if it helped to save his life and the others'."

J.D. nodded in agreement and replied, "Yer probably right."

"Well, if you boys aren't a sight… for sore eyes," a familiar voice called out from a distance as they all turned to see Nathan walking slowly toward them, looking as though he was about to fall over any minute.

"Nathan!" Buck exclaimed happily as he and the others ran to the healer and caught him before he collapsed to the ground out of exhaustion. "Are you… What happened to you? Are the others alright?"

After they guided him over to the porch outside of the saloon and carefully helped him to sit, then handed him one of their own flasks of water, Nathan quickly drank from it thirstily and then responded, "I'm good, but the others aren't. They were fine last I saw, but…"

J.D. interrupted, "What happened? How'd you escape?"

"I didn't," he answered gruffly after finally catching his breath. "They set me free… after Ezra beat 'im at the tables."

"You mean, Ezra set a wager, playing for your lives?" J.D. asked in confusion. "That's crazy! How could he?"

Vin looked down at Nathan and saw the worry in his face, then replied for their friend, "He didn't. Ellstin Lafayette set the bet."

Nathan nodded and continued, "Three rounds. If Ez wins, one of us will be set free, let lose out into the desert and forced to walk back here to town with only a small flask of water. I finished what I had over a mile before I got back here."

"And what if Ezra loses?" J.D. asked, then flinched at the thought.

"Then, I think… I think that whoever he's playin' for will die," Nathan responded nervously.

Buck scoffed as he shook his head, then spoke again saying, "Ezra's the best damn card player I've ever seen, but even still… And what if he wins all three hands and is left alone with that madman?"

Nathan looked between his friends as he answered sadly, "Either way, I don't think Ezra's getting out of this alive unless we find 'im and bring Lafayette down fer good. You don't know what all he's done. He's a monster."

"We know," Vin replied. "Do you think you can lead us back to 'em?"

"Definitely," the healer responded, then took another long drink before finally standing again between his friends. "We'd better get going. I can rest up later once our brothers are safe too."


	18. Chapter 18

Quick and the Dead

Chapter Eighteen

The second round of the criminal's sick game was lasting a lot longer than the first, mainly because Ezra was much weakened after the brutal beating. The conman, turned lawman fought hard not show it, but Ellstin could see right through the mask the younger man had put up to hide how he was really feeling.

Lafayette smiled as he asked cruelly, "You feelin' it yet, Samson? Or… it's Standish now, isn't it?"

Ezra glared at the man, then looked back down at the cards in his hands as he ignored the second part of the question and replied, unfazed by the coldness the man before him was directing at him, "An occupational hazard. I've felt worse and certainly not because of any beating you've delivered."

"I can imagine," his torturer answered coolly. "Being a lawman, not to mention being a conman and a good for nothing gambler of course. You've made quite the life for yourself Ezra, despite all the terrible things I've tried to do to you. I am impressed. Your uncle told me a little about you. He said you are the spitting image of your mother, that the two of you have stolen a lot of money and possessions from hardworking people. And yet, these other men allowed you to become a lawman."

"We've all got pasts we're not proud of," Josiah said in hope of drawing the painful conversation away from their friend. "There's more to Ezra than meets the eye. He's a good man despite the appearance he gives off."

Ellstin smiled and then looked at the leader of the Seven as he asked, "Is that how you feel about this boy too, Mr. Larabee? Do you really believe Ezra's a good man deep down?"

Chris raised his head to look at smug man and responded, "I do. You'd better believe I do. I wouldn't have invited 'im to join us or given him the second chance he earned if I didn't."

"So loyal, aren't they?" their captor asked as he looked again at Ezra. "How are yer cards? Is this round about over yet? I'm starting to get bored again."

"Indeed it's over," the gambler replied confidently, then looked up and stared into his enemy's eyes as he laid down his cards face up on the table for everyone to see. "I call. Lay your cards down. Are they enough to beat my four of a kind?"

Ellstin smiled and began to laugh as he tossed his cards down as requested, then answered, "You know, I thought I might have you this time. I mean, I thought I had discovered your own tell this time around, but…"

Ezra interrupted coldly, "You mean the tap of my pointer finger over my leg any time I received a card of no worth? You saw the tell I wanted you to see."

"Very clever, Ezra," the villain responded as he slowly clapped his hands. "I am very impressed."

"You shouldn't be," the lawman replied quickly, with no emotion on his face. "I thought it obvious. Any good poker player would have known it was a gambit. I guess you are not as good as you thought you were."

Ellstin glared hard at his captive, then motioned for two of his men to come forward as they grabbed hold of Ezra's right arm, knowing that his right hand was his dominant hand, forced it onto the table in front of him, and held it down firmly, making it impossible for the younger man to break free. Tom then picked up one of his boss' knives he kept beneath the bar behind them and handed it over to him. He smiled as Ellstin took the blade and without a word, swiftly thrust it down deep into Ezra's hand, causing him to scream out in agony.

Chris shouted angrily, "You son of a bitch! How do you expect him to be able to play another round with a broken hand?"

Lafayette roughly pulled the knife back out as his rival's blood began to pour out rapidly while Ezra struggled to remain conscious, then he called out to his men, "Take care of this. I can't have him bleed out just yet, nor do I want him to lose consciousness."

"He'll play, Mr. Larabee," Ellstin continued as the men quickly got to work in bandaging up their prisoners' hand enough to get it to stop bleeding, at least so freely. "Because he has to play if he still wants to save your defrocked preacher. He won the second game. I assure you, I am a man of my word, but because I can see the cold fire in your eyes as well as in Mr. Sanchez's, I'm going to set you free once we're all done here. Just to make sure that you can't break free and try to kill me or my men."

"Do whatever you have to do, Ellstin, but when this is over, and it will be soon, one of us will kill you one way or another," Chris responded bitterly. "And it won't be quick. There will be a reckoning."


	19. Chapter 19

Quick and the Dead

Chapter Nineteen

"I will give you some time to rest up before we play the final round," Ellstin said coldly as he looked down at Ezra, who was once again down on the floor, his back lying back against the wall behind him as he cradled his gravely wounded hand close to his chest and stared up at his captor through weary, pain filled eyes. "We'll see if you are still sharp enough to beat me for a third time."

"You shouldn't have chosen Nathan to be set free first," Chris muttered once the men all left the room again, more as a general statement than to the gambler.

Ezra responded weakly, "It would… n't have mattered… if I chose… him first… or… last. He wo… would still be… strung… up the same as… you."

Josiah felt real fear for their group's black sheep as he kept his eyes on him, then tried to sound reassuring as he spoke up saying, "The others will be here soon. We're all going to get out of this, I'm certain. If anything, Nathan will have arrived in whatever town we're nearby now and has already wired Vin, J.D., and Buck back in Four Corners."

"I apprec… iate the positive…" Ezra struggled to answer until he simply trailed off as he focused on trying to remain conscious.

"Come on, Ezra," Josiah called out gently as he and Chris both noticed that he was slowly losing his strength to keep fighting. "I know that things are bad, but you're going to be alright. You are too darn stubborn to let these bastards beat you."

The Southerner scoffed and then replied softly, "I was… once. Even if I do sur… sur… survive this, things… won't be... I won't be… the same man."

Chris closed his eyes in frustration as he cursed himself for allowing all of this to happen, then he responded, "Maybe not, but you will get through this and you will be better for it."

"Just hold on brother," Josiah added gently when he noticed as Ezra's eyes fell closed. "Help is coming. The others are coming."

"There is no way he's going to be able to play one more stinkin' game against that monster," Chris said quietly to the preacher after their friend fell unconscious.

Tom Owens walked into the room again and having overheard the last part of the lawmen's conversation, he stated smugly, "You better pray that he pulls himself together, cause if he don't, yer preacher friend is as good as dead. Your friends won't becoming. They don't know where we are and that healer friend of yours is dead."

Chris stared at the man coldly as he asked, "Why you doin' all this? What does helping Lafayette do for you?"

"He pays me well and he's a great boss," the saloon owner answered as he lit a cigarette, placed it into his mouth, and blew smoke in the gunslinger's face. "Plus, I get to have some fun every now and again."

"You think torturing a man is fun?" Josiah replied in disgust. "Men like you and your boss deserve to rot in Hell. And very soon now, you will be."

Tom responded, "Yes, so you've already said. Mr. Lafayette will be back in a few minutes to rouse yer gambler friend so that they can get their game over with. I suggest you try to wake him first because if you don't you won't like how we plan to wake him."

Josiah looked to Chris quickly, then back at the man towering over Ezra and answered pleadingly, "Cut me down and allow me to tend to him. I only want to help him. I won't run, I swear under God that I won't; please."

"Very well, if you can't trust a man of God, who can you trust?" Ellstin replied disdainfully as he walked back into the room in time to hear the preacher beg. "Even if he is now a gunslinger and a lawman. Tom, do as he asks. He won't try anything, because if he does, I'll finish Ezra off whether our game is over or not."

"If you want me to," Owens responded as he consented to his orders, moving to stand before the much larger man, who had tried to choke the life out of him earlier that day, and cut through his bonds using the same knife used to stab Ezra's hand, now coated in his blood.

Josiah rubbed his hands to try to bring back feeling into them, then swiftly made his way over to their brother and knelt down beside him as he gently pulled the younger man into his arms. The preacher didn't need to be a doctor to know how bad off Ezra really was as he could feel heat now radiating throughout his body. He had lost too much blood from the stab wound, and cuts and bruises covered his body, most likely breaking a few of his ribs, quite possibly causing inner problems that couldn't be seen. Only Nathan would be able to tell.

Josiah spoke quietly as he rubbed his large hand across the gambler's forehead and down the side of his face saying, "Ezra, please son, you need to wake up now."

He slowly began to stir, though he hadn't opened his eyes as he answered barely above a whisper, "I'm not… your son."

"I must be… in Hell," the conman continued when he did finally open his eyes and saw Josiah smiling down on him.

"Not quite, but you're close," Sanchez replied as he slowly helped his friend sit up a bit further, then eventually up off the floor altogether as he helped him into his chair at the table once again, while Ellstin and Tom were waiting in their chairs across from him.

When the preacher finished, Ezra said sincerely, "Thank you, Mr. Sanchez."

Lafayette smiled coldly and then stated, "All right preacher, you've helped your friend. Mr. Owens, if you and some of the other men would tie him back up?"

"I hate to interrupt, but that ain't happenin'!" Buck suddenly called out from the doorway as he, Vin, and J.D. all burst in with their guns raised, then started shooting after Ellstin's men fired the first few shots toward the intruders. "The Calvary's arrived, boys!"

"Hold on!" Vin shouted as he got the chance to aim and fired a bullet through the cords binding Chris to the hook, allowing their leader the flexibility to pull his arms the rest of the way free, then pulled the knife hidden in his sleeve and thrust it at one of the men charging toward him. "Need a gun, cowboy?"

Chris caught the weapon as the tracker tossed it and then shot one of the hired men as he was attempting to shoot Josiah in the back as the preacher threw himself over Ezra to push him down to the floor and out of harm's way as the battle ensued around them. Nathan quickly ran over to them and handed Josiah his own weapon as well, fired a couple of shots to kill another of their attackers, then looked down at the gambler in shock at his friend's condition as Ezra struggled to remain conscious.

Ellstin ducked down behind the bar and fired toward the Seven any chance that he could and then looked for the opportunity to kill the man he hated since he was a child as he shouted out to his men, "Kill them! Kill them all, but I want that little bastard dead!"

Chris cried out, "Then step out and fight us instead of cowering like a coward!"

"You want to fight me, let's fight!" Lafayette responded as he rose out from behind the bar and ran through the men around them to get to one of the doorways for more cover as he fired several shots aimed directly toward the lead gunslinger, who managed to dodge most of them, except one as it struck him through his arm.

"I can fight," Ezra said to Josiah as the preacher continued to defend him while firing at the few remaining men, including the saloon owner, who suddenly came face to face with Nathan when he tried charging against them, breaking into a fist fight.

Josiah handed the gambler his own derringer, putting it into the hand that was hurt the least, as he took a moment to look back at him and answered, "In case you need to defend yourself."

It was then that Ezra turned his head in time to see his enemy as he turned a gun in their direction, aiming right at Josiah, then suddenly thrust himself forward with as much force as he could against the larger man while firing his small gun simultaneously, the conman's bullet hitting its mark, striking the monster straight through the heart. Sadly, the bullet intended for the preacher struck its mark as well, though after slicing straight through Ezra's chest first and ending up embedded in Josiah's upper shoulder, causing them to fall back as Ezra became still.

Chris watched helplessly as the shot shredded through the Southerner's chest as he cried out, "Ezra! Josiah! Nathan, they've been hit!"

"Are you…?" Nathan started to ask after he ran over to them as Josiah, who swiftly grabbed the gambler tightly and forced his hand down over the new wound.

"I'm fine!" the older man cried angrily as he pulled Ezra closer while he looked down between the bullet wound and his slack face in search for any kind of consciousness or awareness and finding none. "Damn it, Ezra! You stubborn, foolish… We need to end this fight, now!"

Chris and Buck ran over to help the healer and preacher tend to their friend, while Vin and J.D. finished off the remaining men, finding only the saloon owner still alive, then joined the rest of the Seven as they stared down at Ezra sadly and J.D. asked fearfully, "He's goin' to be alright, won't he Nathan?"

Nathan replied angrily, "After everything he's been through? I don't… I don't know how, J.D."


	20. Chapter 20

Quick and the Dead

Chapter Twenty

Hours later…

Four of the Seven lawmen crowded together outside of one of the farmhouse's bedrooms while they waited fearfully for word on Ezra's condition. He was in bad shape before he had been shot, but now… if he managed to survive, the rest of the team swore to themselves that they would begin to believe in what Ezra already had a firm belief in; lady luck. Josiah refused to leave their gambler friend's side, feeling guilty over Ezra taking a bullet meant for him and angry at himself for failing to protect him as he had tried to do.

By the end, none of their troupe had come out unscathed, as Chris had taken a bullet through his right arm, Josiah received the bullet that went through Ezra's chest in his left shoulder, and Buck had been sliced across his chest by a knife. Everyone was weary and remained silent while they helped to treat each other, as Nathan was obviously needed to take care of the worst of their wounded. Even Josiah, though his wound was bad as well, waited in silence as he refused to allow anyone near him to distract him from helping Nathan with Ezra.

Finally, Buck broke the silence fallen over them all as he spoke up saying, "I can't take this anymore. This waiting is driving me crazy! How did this happen?"

Vin kept his eyes on the floor as he answered coldly, "We all failed him, that's what happened."

"We figured that Ezra probably wouldn't have made it out of this mess completely unharmed, but… I mean you all saw 'im?" Buck responded again in exasperation. "What went on here, Chris?"

"It's a long story," their leader replied wearily as he rubbed his hand over his face, then fell back against the wall and lowered himself down until he was sitting on the ground with his knees up, then rested his good hand over the wound in his arm, trying to ignore the pain.

J.D. looked down at him as he said, "We have nothing, but time. It's going to be a long wait before we're told anything."

Chris finally relented as he nodded and answered, "Ezra kept the secret about a tragedy that transpired when he was only a child hidden deep in the back of his memory for a long, long time."

"We know about Lafayette beating 'im and the night he threw Ez out amongst the slaves to be beaten to death after Ezra tried to fight back," Vin cut in as he kept his eyes firmly on his friend.

"Yes, well what you might not know is that the next day, that monster killed a Pinkerton agent who came by Higgins' home to speak with him about something and then killed the man," Chris continued. "In order to cover his tracks, he had all of the slaves killed, then ran along with Higgins, who also kept quiet about it all. Ezra somehow survived and hid amongst the bodies to keep from being killed like the rest."

Buck stared at their leader in shock as he exclaimed, "My God! How did he keep all of that a secret. Didn't he at least tell his mother?"

J.D. responded, "You know Maude. Would you have told her?"

"That's a fair point, but still… How did he live with all that bottled up inside 'im?" Buck replied sadly.

"By hiding behind the selfish facade that we've seen in 'im since we all became the Seven," Vin answered as he looked over at the ladies man, then turned back to Chris. "Nathan told us about the game Ellstin forced 'im to play. I take it that the beating Ezra took happened after Nathan was set free?"

Chris nodded and then responded, "It all grew worse and neither me or Josiah could do anything to help him. It's good that you all came when you did. If you hadn't… Ezra wouldn't have been able to play the third round with the way his hand was. And Nathan wouldn't be needed to try to save 'im right now. I'm glad Lafayette's dead, but I wish I had been the one to kill him."

Vin placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder, then replied, "The important thing is that he's dead, pard."

"That's right, and that one we've got strung up like you all were, as well as Higgins back in our town will both pay for all they've done too," Buck added. "Don't worry, Chris. Ez is goin' to be fine. He's too stubborn to let this lick 'im."

"I'm praying to God you're right, Bucklin," Josiah answered softly as he finally stepped out from the room and closed the door behind him in order to keep out the noise from their chatter.

Everyone stood and moved to surround the preacher, looking to him for news as Chris asked fearfully, "How is he, Josiah?"

The large man turned away from them and responded, "Not good. He's still alive for now, but… Nathan said that the bullet went through his chest very close to his heart. If it had lodged in 'im, he would already be dead. His hand is a real mess too. He says a few of the bones in it are shattered. He's gonna try to fix it up the best he can."

"What about the beating he took?" Vin asked quickly. "I saw the bruises on his face and chest when we carried 'im in there. Is there any lasting damage?"

"He's got a few broken ribs and his leg's broken, but Nathan doesn't think there's any damage inside of his body," the defrocked preacher replied as he finally looked between his friends. "Once he finishes with the more severe wounds, Nathan will worry about the smaller ones. I'm going to go back in with 'im. I just wanted to come out to…"

Vin reached out and grabbed the much larger man as he was about to fall over from exhaustion and the pain from his own gunshot wound, then spoke up saying, "Yer hurt pretty bad too, preacher. We may not be as good as Nathan, but we can do a little bit for you until he's able to get to the rest of us."

Inside the bedroom…

Nathan spent several hours feverishly tending to the Southerner and by the mercy of God, Ezra continued to fight through it all; through the agony caused by his wounds, the fever that raged hotter and hotter throughout his body, and the torment the healer's administrations added to his already battered frame.

Once he was finally finished, Nathan walked out of the room, allowing Vin to enter so he could sit with Ezra while he continued to treat the rest of the Seven, beginning with Josiah, who was getting more irritable and angry as time went on, refusing to allow the healer to help him anymore than the others had tried to do. So, in order to do what needed to be done, Nathan looked over at Chris and nodded, then their leader moved to stand in front of the preacher and swiftly punched him in his face, hard enough the knock the big man unconscious.

J.D. looked on and then said, "He is going to be awfully mad when he wakes up."

"Yeah, but maybe then he will understand that we did it fer his own good," Buck answered smugly. "Let's git 'im into one of the other rooms. Come on, J.D."

Finally…

Nearly six days passed since Ezra had been gravely wounded and though he had yet to awaken and was far from being out of the woods and on the road to recovery, Nathan deemed him fit enough to travel so that the Seven could finally go home, the homestead they were stranded in making them feel uneasy and want to crawl out of their skins.

As they arrived in Four Corners leading a wagon and their horses, the townspeople all stared at the gunslingers in surprise and worry because most of them had ridden them off believing that the lawmen had abandoned them, some of the men and women being very glad to be rid of them and disappointed that they had returned.

"Chris, oh thank God you're all alright!" Mary cried out as she came running over to them from her newspaper office, then noticed that each of their faces were worn and hardened, not to mention that only six men were riding in instead of seven. "Where… where is Mr. Standish?"

Josiah jumped down from the wagon and the leader of these men dismounted as they reached the livery, the others quickly following suit as they handed their horses off to a few of the people that went up to them to help them out, then rounded the back of the wagon and as gently as they could, they lifted Ezra out on a makeshift travois and carried him up the stairs to Nathan's clinic.

Chris watched his friends carry the gambler away, then turned back to Mary as well as her son and father, who joined her, and responded angrily, "It's too long of a story to explain it all again. He's in bad shape. If you need me…"

Mary suddenly interrupted, "Chris, Maude is here. She arrived the night the poker tournament began. When she asked where her son was, I just told her that all of you were out of town on business. I didn't mention anything about Ezra possibly being in trouble, or anything about Joseph Higgins being in prison either."

"Where is she right now?" Chris asked coldly as he looked toward the saloon, as it was the most likely place she would go to and remain while in town. "Is she in there?"

"Yes, she's been very busy cleaning men out of their money, even after the tournament ended three days ago," Judge Travis replied as he put his arm around his daughter and his hand on his grandson's shoulder. "I would arrest her if I could prove she was cheating all these sad saps, but as far as I can tell, she's not doing anything illegal."

Vin walked down from the clinic to see what was taking his friend so long to come up as he asked, "What's goin' on, cowboy?"

The gunslinger looked at the tracker, then answered, "Go tell Josiah that I need him to come down. The three of us need to have a word with Ezra's mother."

"Maude's here," Vin stated, not really being surprised. "And Ezra always says my timing is impeccable. "We'll be right there. I wouldn't go in there alone, Chris. Wait for us?"

"Don't worry," he responded. "I won't."

A few minutes later, Chris, Josiah, and Vin all walked inside the saloon and over to the table where she sat, flirting and playing poker or some other card game with a group of men, most of whom were strangers from out of town, all smitten by this woman's beauty and southern charm.

When the lawmen approached, the men's attentions all went to them as Chris spoke up saying curtly, "Leave, now."

They quickly did as the Seven's leader ordered, then Maude smiled as she replied, "Gentlemen, there you are. You are just in time for the next round. Do me a favor and go find my son for me. Tell him I would like to speak with him about somethin' important."

"Whatever it is, it's going to have to wait," Chris answered coldly, instantly making Maude feel a little afraid of the men standing before her, as they all had the same cold looks on their faces, especially the preacher who usually always made her feel the most welcome to their tiny town. "Are you proud of the way you treat your son? Proud that you raised him to be as cold and unfeeling as you?"

"How dare you speak to me like this!" the woman responded angrily. "How I treat and raise Ezra is none of your business. I don't understand why you are coming in here, ruining my fun, and treating me as if I've done something you are so surprised by. You know all of this already, as you've spent all of these months that he's been living here corrupting my boy."

Josiah took a seat across from Maude and then said sadly, "Right now, your son is up in Nathan's clinic, fighting for his life. He was shot and stabbed and beaten, all because he kept a secret from even you because you taught him to hide his feelings and be a man. A week ago, his secret came back to haunt him. How well did you know your first husband's brother, Joseph Higgins and his slave, Ellstin Lafayette?"

Maude glared coldly at the men before her as she replied in anger, "How could you allow this to happen to my boy? You lawmen were supposed to look after him, to protect him!"

"Answer the question, Maude!" Chris shouted. "You did know what they did to Ezra, didn't you? Ezra didn't tell you, but the look on your face and your avoidance tells me that you found out somehow and yet you didn't do anything to comfort him or help him to open up about it, to anyone. How dare you call yourself a mother?"

"I had no choice, but to leave my son with my husband's brother, as well as several other family members," she cried out, clearly shaken with rage by these men's coldness toward her. "I had nothing after my husband died. I needed to make a life for myself and Ezra was too young to drag around from city to city with me. Eventually I learned the best way to make money and I was good at it, but Ezra never did want the life I tried to break him into. However, I knew that by leaving him with all of his aunts, uncles, and cousins, the cruelty running through my family and my husband's family would eventually wake him up to the reality that our world is hard and full of people who would walk all over him, even kill him, if he didn't be the man he eventually became. I taught him to take care of himself. I love my son. How dare you sit here and tell me I don't!"

Josiah wanted to scream at her like Chris had, but instead he breathed in deeply to cool down and finally answered calmly, "Your greed and messed up way of thinking nearly got your son killed, Maude. Despite everything you did, Ezra is a good man. He is one of us now and will never again be the son you want him to be. So long as Ezra remains unconscious and unable to speak for himself, you will not be allowed to see him. If and when he wakes, he can decide if he wants to see you or not."

As the three men stood and walked away from her to head back up to the clinic, Maude stood as well as she called out after them, "You have no right to keep me from my son! Mr. Larabee? Mr. Sanchez? You horrible brutes!"

Twelve days later…

Josiah quietly walked into Ezra's room and found the gambler awake as he was struggling to lift himself far enough to be able to reach a book lying on the dresser beside his bed, but as the preacher entered, he lay back down against the pillows propped up beneath him a little too quickly, making his head spin.

The larger man noticed this as he walked around to the side of his bed in order to help him get comfortable again, then picked up the book for him and gently placed it into Ezra's good hand. The conman looked at Josiah briefly, then looked away again as he turned his head to stare at nothing, as he's done ever since he woke up four days after they came back to town.

"If you want, I'd be happy to read that to you," the preacher said calmly. "I don't understand William Shakespeare very well at all, but if it's what you like…"

"Why can't you just leave me alone," Ezra finally spoke barely more than a whisper. "I don't want you to read to me, I don't want to hear about the activity in town, and I don't need you or the others taking care of me. I don't need your pity."

Josiah smiled because this man he had found a new admiration for was finally speaking again, but then he looked down on him as he responded sadly, "We don't pity you, Ezra. We are just worried about you. We want you to recover and come back to being that same stubborn, foolish, and clever fool we've all come to care about over the months we've all been brought together."

Ezra turned to look at the preacher as he asked, "Don't you mean that selfish and good for nothing gambler you've all come to depend on when you need me for just another gun? I told you, I am not one of you. I don't belong here, or anywhere else. I can't…"

Tears formed in the smaller man's eyes, though he quickly wiped them away the best he could with his free hand, as tears wasn't something Ezra was used to, nor comfortable with showing anyone else, ever. Josiah turned his head toward the heavens as he sought the right words to say to this broken man.

"You do, in time you will see that you do," the big man replied confidently. "We are the Magnificent Seven. How could we be without you? I believe it was because of your influence that that writer came up with the moniker. You were proud of it before all of this happened to us."

"I nearly got you all killed," Ezra answered in frustration at the man for not listening to him. "There is no pride in that. If it weren't for me becoming a part of your lives…"

Josiah interrupted, "As I recall, it was you who saved not only my life, but the lives of Chris and Nathan as well. It was a stupid thing for you to do, but we are all grateful to you, and it's all we care about. Despite your mother's ways bred into you since you were a child, you have become a good man, Ezra Standish, a man that I am proud to stand with and fight beside."

The rest of the Seven walked into the room and having heard the preacher's words from outside, Chris responded sincerely, "The same goes for me."

"And me," Vin replied, as did Nathan, Buck, and J.D. "It's good to see you finally talking, pard. You had us all pretty worried we would never hear that Southern drawl of yers again."

"Well, so long as you are willing to put up with me and my own ways of handling things around this God forsaken dustbowl, then I guess I'm staying," Ezra said with a smile, the first time he smiled in almost two weeks. "It's not like I could run even if I wanted to, seeing as I am still stuck in bed, barely able to move. How much longer will it be before I am fully healed, Mr. Jackson? More importantly, how long before I will be able to go back to gambling?"

Nathan looked between the others standing around them, then back down at the Southerner as he answered, "Now that you're speaking to us again and slowly starting to revert back into yer old self? It will take some time. You are finally getting better, but you've still got a long way to go. Don't worry, you will get there and we'll all help you."

Ezra closed his eyes, as he was losing his willpower to remain awake, then opened them again as he looked around at his friends and asked, "What about Ellstin… and my uncle? Are they…"

"They can't hurt you or anyone else again," Buck responded coldly. "Lafayette is stone cold dead, thanks to your spot on aim, and Mr. Higgins is in our town's jail, waiting for Judge Travis to set his day on trial. It's up to you if you want to be there to face him or not, Ez. Either way, he won't be free any time soon, if he doesn't git sentenced to die."

"I understand my mother was in town," Ezra stated as he allowed his head to fall back fully into the pillow and closed his eyes, this time keeping them closed. "If she's still here, please inform her I do not wish to see her for some time. I… can't face…"

After the gambler trailed off, finally allowing himself to ty to get some sleep after not being able to without waking in cold sweats and dreaming back to the tragedy all those years ago when he was nearly killed, Josiah replied quietly, "Don't worry, we've already done it. She left town already, after we laid into her. I doubt she'll be back for a good long time."

As everyone turned and began to walk out of the room in order to let their friend to rest, Chris stopped and he spoke again saying, "I told you once before, just as I am telling you now, you've done real good, Ezra. You're one of us for as long as you want to be."

The End


	21. Thank You

Thank you to all of those who have read and have written reviews for my stories! They are much appreciated. I'm honored to have you all for fans and I hope to hear from you all again in the future, should you choose to read and enjoy more of my work. Best of wishes to you all!

Sincerely,

Genevieve Kelly


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